Changing Fate
by SharkyTetra
Summary: This is the story of a suicidal girl who takes her own life, but instead of being welcomed by death as she had hoped she was met with a different fate. To her surprise she had been reincarnated and was born into the Hyuga clan within the world of Naruto. Will she be able to change the fate of so many tragic events or will she fail?
1. Chapter 1

There she was, sitting there on the edge of her bed with the bottle of narcotics in her hands. The girl's name was Camilla. She was just an average girl in an average world. A saddened expression came to Camilla's face as she bit her lip. The poor girl felt tears well up in the corners of her eyes as she thought about what she was going to do.

"Should I go through with this or should I try to ignore it?" She asked herself, her voice was barely above a whisper. Camilla was contemplating on whether she should just end it all now, end all the suffering she went through every day. Camilla didn't know what to do.

Camilla knew that her close friends and family could help her get through this as they often tried to do. She knew her depression wasn't getting any better and the medicine she took that was supposed to help it didn't seem to help anymore. Nothing ever seemed to make Camilla happy anymore.

"I'm going to do it. I can't live like this anymore." Camilla whispered as she felt a few stray tears slid down her cheeks.

She opened the bottle and began swallowing the pills. She shoved them into her mouth, one by one until the bottle was empty. She sat there, waiting for the pills to take effect so that she could take her leave from this horrid world that she lived within.

After several minutes had passed her eyelids began growing heavy, causing her to start closing her eyes. She fought to keep them open but it was no use because it was a fight she wouldn't be able to win. Her body began to fall backwards, it met the softness of the bed behind her.

The world around her began to slowly fade away beneath the surface of her closed eyelids. Camilla had done it, she knew she had successfully taken her own life. Camilla could feel her heart pounding. Her body fell flat and her stomach felt like a whirlpool. She couldn't breath, Camilla didn't know what to do. The knots in her stomach were getting worse as she looked down, all she could see was the black abyss beneath her as she fell.

Camilla tried to scream, she tried as hard as she could to call out for anyone but she couldn't. She couldn't make any noise at all, it was as if she had lost her voice.

Everything had been eerily quiet and the falling sensation seemed to come to an abrupt halt. It was as if time itself had stopped all around her. Camilla wasn't sure what was going to happen to her now that she was here. Would she go to Heaven, or would she go to Hell for taking her own life. The thought terrified the poor girl. The darkness of the surrounding area seemed to swallow her.

Camilla felt as if an entire lifetime had passed due to how long she had been trapped within the dark abyss she had fallen into. She had no way of telling exactly how long she'd been trapped within it. Little did she know that her life was about to change. She was about to enter a special place that she had always wanted to escape too but she wouldn't get what she had expected from this knew place.

A bright light soon emerged, lighting up the area around Camilla. _A way out!_ Camilla thought as a spark of hope glimmered inside of her. As the girl made her way to the light she began gritting her teeth as a sharp wave of pain overtook her.

 _I thought the white light was supposed to be a good thing and not a bad thing!_ Camilla thought as confusion also overtook her. She wondered if she was now going to suffer for eternity for committing suicide. She hoped not!

An uncomfortable pressure began to press against her body as she moved forward, she bit her lip and hoped that it would end soon. Luckily after about ten minutes or so the pain and the pressure she felt both faded away. There were several muffled voices that were loudly speaking to one another. Camilla couldn't understand anything that was being said.

 _Why is it so dark?_ Camilla thought to herself. It didn't take her too long to realize that she had her eyes closed. _Well, I'm and idiot._ She thought as she quickly opened them. The brightness of the light forced her to shut them.

When Camilla opened her eyes the second time she opened them slowly. She had always hated bright lights and she didn't want to practically get blinded again by the light. Camilla looked around and realized that she was no longer in her room, she could tell from her surroundings that she was now in the hospital. _How am I even alive?_ She questioned as confusion filled her thoughts. When Camilla turned her head to look in the other direction she saw a beautiful woman. Who was she? Camilla had never seen her before. Whoever she was she looked exhausted and sweaty. It was as if she had just given birth. That was when Camilla realized it. She realized that the woman was holding her and that she was her baby.

The woman was beautiful, she had long, dark brown hair and pupil-less grey eyes that had somewhat of a lavender tint to them. Camilla found it quite odd, but she found the markings on the woman's forehead even more odd. Camilla hadn't realized that this woman was a part of the Hyuga clan or that she had been born into the world of Naruto. She wasn't being as observant as she should have been.

After realizing that she was now going to live an entire life all over again she began to cry. The thoughts of her family and friends from her previous life invaded her mind. One of the most horrible feelings overtook her, regret. Camilla began to regret killing herself. She had been twenty-two, almost twenty-three when she died and now she was expected to go through everything all over again. Camilla wasn't looking forward to it at all. Camilla cried, and cried, and cried. The woman, her new mother tried to console her as she wailed as loud as she could. It was all Camilla could do. She cried for what felt like a long time.

It wasn't long until a man with long black hair walked over to us with a small boy that looked to be about a year old. He looked .like our mother, having her dark brown hair and grey eyes. Camilla figured that the man must be her new father and the boy would be her older brother. Camilla was kind of looking forward to having a father in her life, Camilla didn't know her father in her other life all too well and figured that he just didn't like her. Hopefully this man would be a better father. Camilla also would get to know what it was like to have a sibling. That would be a whole new experience for her.

Camilla hoped that this life would be better than her last one, hoping that her depression would no longer get to her anymore. She hoped that she could live happily. She would be in for a shock once she found out where she was though.

Camilla felt bad for the little tantrum she had been throwing but she figured they thought she was just doing what babies normally did, which was cry. Camilla knew that she couldn't blame these people for the things she did and that she could only blame herself for how she felt. She would try to act like a better baby instead of being a terrible one. None of this was their fault when She knew it was hers. Camilla would try her hardest to fit in with her new family. She wanted a family that would accept her for who she was. She didn't need another family to try and force her to be something she isn't. Camilla would just try to make the best of this life.

* * *

After the first three or four weeks after Camilla had been reborn she heard one word that scared her down to the core of her very being. Kyubi. That was when she realized she was in the world of Naruto. That was when She also realized that she had been born into the Hyuga clan. That frightened Camilla a bit too. The Hyuga clan was a strange one. She knew in just a few years she and Neji would get the same markings their parents had on their foreheads. she also knew how their father would die but no idea about how their mother died, if she even did die. The anime never explained it. Luckily none of them died during the attack of the nine tailed fox. Knowing what happened in the anime certainly came in handy because it came Camilla knowledge that she needed to know about this world. Anzu's mother and father soon burst through the door of the nursery where she had been sleeping. This is where Anzu would be staying with her mother and Neji until the attack was over. Neji cried, he wanted our father to come back, who could blame him. He was scared. He was only one after all. This was a scary event for a child to go through.

When Camilla began wailing Neji began to console her as well as a one year old cold. He was quite fond of her already. "Shh Anzu, shh." Neji said to his little sister.

She had worked out that Anzu was her new name because her mother, father, and Neji called her Anzu a lot.

Anzu was terrified, she didn't want the fox to come where they were because they would just die, Anzu and Neji were too young to protect themselves and our mother wasn't a ninja.

It wasn't long until it felt like Anzu was burning, the fiery sensation that made its way through her body was painful. She cried as loud as she could, she wanted it to stop but there was nothing that she could do. Anzu would just have to wait for it to go away on its own. Anzu knew her mother was trying to console her the best way she could. She was cradled within her arms. "It's alright my little apricot, everything will be alright." She cooed softly.

Several hours had passed and we still hadn't seen our father at all, none of us were sure when he would come back to us. The battle with the nine tailed fox was still taking place and it lasted late into the night, when it had been sealed inside of an infant known as Naruto Uzumaki. Anzu was glad when the burning sensation she felt had stopped but it made her feel even worse for Naruto, knowing the fox had now been sealed inside of him. There was no doubt in her mind that the burning pain she felt was the fox's chakra.

Anzu couldn't wait until she was older, when she'd be able to meet Naruto. She wanted to befriend him, she wanted to make him happy, and most of all she didn't want him to go through a lonely childhood. Anzu knew that Naruto's parents both died during the fox's attack and that no one wanted anything to do with him. Anzu was going to change that no matter what anyone said to her, she wasn't going to listen to anything bad that regarded Naruto.

* * *

Three years had passed and Anzu dreaded the events that she knew were going to happen soon. It was just about time for Hinata to turn three. Anzu and Neji would be receiving their curse marks upon their foreheads. It would also mean we would be losing our father as well and it saddened young Anzu. She didn't want to lose anyone within her family, she had already grown so attached to them and it would just hurt to lose any of them. Poor Neji had no idea of the events that would soon take place. Sometimes Anzu wished she didn't know so much about this world but she knew it would come in handy if she wanted to save anyone. She dreaded most of what she knew and little did she know that the actions she'd soon make would change her life for the worst.

It wasn't long until our father Hizashi took us to our Uncle Hiashi. He was the man that was going to perform the curse mark jutsu on us and Anzu wasn't looking forward to it. She knew exactly what these marks were capable of and she knew how the main branch of the clan used them and it was horrifying and it scared the hell out of her. She knew she didn't want the curse mark on her forehead but she didn't have a choice. She was three, what could she do to even prevent it. Nothing, that's what. She stood there and watched as Neji received his.

It wasn't long until Anzu began to run, she tried to get away as well as she could. Her small legs couldn't take her very far but she moved as quickly as she possibly could. Hiashi was able to easily catch up to her and grabbed her. Fear filled the young girl as she tried to think of a way to get away from him. That was when it hit her. Anzu bit him and she bit him hard. She put as much force into her bite as she could and it wasn't long til the metallic taste of blood hit her tongue.

"Why you little! . . ." Hiashi spat through his gritted teeth.

Anzu hadn't realized that Neji had been watching the entire scene and she didn't know that her actions would lead to him hating her.

Neji watched Anzu as she tried to fight their uncle, he wasn't sure what had gotten into his sister. He realized that she didn't want the curse mark put onto her though, he was quite smart and observant even though he was only four. This was their destiny and he knew she would have to embrace it. They didn't have a choice.

"No Uncle Hiashi! NO!" Anzu screamed as she let out a wailing cry.

Hiashi's voice followed saying, "You don't have a choice young Anzu. You're destined to wear this mark just like everyone else in the lesser branch of the clan." Hiashi had to hold the child down in order to brand her forehead with the curse mark.

* * *

Once Anzu had received the mark she could feel the eyes of her brother burning into her. He glared at her angrily. She looked away, trying to avoided Neji's glare. She didn't like that he was mad at her but she had to try something. It wasn't like she succeeded so she didn't understand why he'd be angry when she still got the mark.

Would Neji hate me for this, Anzu thought as she looked down. She hoped that he wouldn't but deep down she knew he already hated her for it.

 _I'm sorry Neji_ , Anzu thought as she heaved a sigh. Anzu hoped that she could eventually make everything better between them but she wasn't sure how she'd do that yet.

* * *

Neji still glanced over at Anzu angrily, even when they sat with their father. They were currently watching Hiashi and Hinata as they sparred. Anzu hadn't said anything since she had gotten the curse mark, she had been completely quiet.

"You're kick is still weak." Hiashi said, speaking to his daughter.

"yes. . ." Hinata replied softly before running at him, yelling out a battle cry as she did.

"Listen, Neji, Anzu. Is your destiny clear to you? You live only to protect lady Hinata and to preserve the power of our clan's main household." Hizashi, or father said to us.

"I understand father." Neji said to him, but Anzu sat there, she still refused to speak.

It was then, our father tried to use his Byakugan and that was when Hiashi used the curse mark against him, punishing him for it. Neji and Anzu quickly rushed to their father's side.

"Father! What is it?!" We asked in unison. Our father just laid there, suffering from the pain that the mark was causing him to feel.

"Take your father home, I'll forgive the fool this time, but only this time. See that you never forget your destiny!" Hiashi told us angrily.

That was one of the reasons Anzu feared the mark, and it was the sole reason she didn't want it.

Everything was beginning to fall apart, Anzu knew that the death of their father was rapidly approaching. She wondered why she had to have been born into the Hyuga clan, why couldn't she have been born into one of the other clans? One that she could have actually been happy in. Anzu felt like she was being punished, the happy life she had wished for hadn't come true. Her life still felt just as bad here than it did in her old world.

* * *

It wasn't long until someone entered the main branch family's household and abducted Hinata. It wasn't long until Hiashi realized that Hinata had been taken and it didn't take long for him to quickly kill the man. The man was none other than the head of the cloud ninja who signed the treaty that ended the war with the land of lightning. The land of lightning claimed that the leaf ninja were in violation of the treaty and Hiashi was supposed to be sentenced to death, but instead, our father Hizashi was killed in his place. It leave my family heartbroken. Anzu and Neji had began to hate the main branch of our clan for this tragedy.

* * *

The years that followed our father's death were difficult. Neji never really said anything to Anzu anymore, he felt he had no reason to talk to her. Anzu would try and strike up a conversation with him but he always ignored her. Our mother tried talking to him but that didn't help things get any better.

It was almost Neji's birthday, he would be turning eight and he'd be able to attend the academy soon. Then we wouldn't see each other much during the day but that wouldn't really matter. It wasn't like he'd ever speak to Anzu or anything. It wouldn't be long until our mother enrolled him into the academy. Anzu thought about all of the things she'd learn and all of the people she'd meet when she was old enough to go to the academy. It excited her to know that she'd get to meet the rookie nine. She would try to befriend them all if she could.

* * *

A few weeks had passed and the first day Neji would start going to the academy had arrived. We all woke up and went through our morning routine just as we did every day. Anzu walked to the academy with Neji and their mother to see him off on his first day

Anzu walked up to Neji and gave a kind smile. "Have a good day big brother~" She said as she hugged him. She frowned when he immediately pushed her away. She looked up at him. Her eyes met his cold gaze.

"Thanks" Neji muttered coldly before he walked into the academy.

"I love you Neji!" Anzu called out, knowing that Neji probably didn't care.

It hurt her when he didn't acknowledge that she had said anything to him. Anzu knew she should have expected that from Neji. He was one of the hardest people to get along with and he definitely was the most difficult person to deal with as a sibling. She knew that the main reason he acted this was was because of her, on the day they got the curse marks.

Anzu sighed as she and her mother headed home. The walk was quiet even though her mother tried to strike up a conversation a few times. Anzu wasn't in the mood to talk though, she never was and she knew it worried her mother.

Anzu had become quiet, and reserved. She kept her distance from just about everyone around her. She quickly ran up to her room and shut the door, and then she went and sat on the edge of her bed. She stared at the floor for quite some time before she decided to start try and learn how to use her chakra. She wanted to get a bit of a head start before going to the academy. Sure she got to learn things when they went to train with Lord Hiashi but, she liked to do things on her own. Learning how to use her chakra had been more difficult than she had expected it to be but she knew it wasn't going to come naturally when she never had chakra in her prior life. Anzu hoped to learn how to use it as quickly as possible.

Another reason Anzu wanted to learn how to use it was so that she could protect her family, and the people who would soon become her closest friends. If she even had the courage to make any friends that is. With how reserved Anzu had gotten she was always hesitant around people and always wanted to hide from them. Anzu wanted to help change many of the tragic events that took place within the world of Naruto. She wasn't sure what all she could do but she promised herself that she'd do her best. Anzu wanted to succeed in all she did and she didn't want to fail everyone that she cared about.


	2. Chapter 2

Another year had passed and Anzu had been enrolled into the ninja academy shortly after her eighth birthday. It was a bit nerve wracking but Anzu knew that she'd get used to the idea of becoming a ninja sooner or later. She had to if she wanted to help everyone around her. Anzu was already heading to the academy with Neji and her mother and she thought about everything that might happen today and all the people that she would be getting to meet.

I can't wait to meet the rookie nine! Now I'm going to be able too because I'm going to be in their class! Anzu thought as she tried her best to nor squeal loudly because of the excitement that filled her.

Once we got to the academy Anzu and Neji received a hug from their mother. "Have a great day you too." She said before turning to Anzu. "Anzu dear, please try to make some friends. I understand that making friends will be a bit hard for you but I know you can do it. I'd love to see you become happier. You've been so down for so long and I hate seeing you like that."

Anzu frowned, she had kind of hoped that her mother hadn't noticed how down she had been all these years. She knew she shouldn't be too surprised, after all, mothers were very observant when it came to how their children acted. What kind of mother wouldn't notice that their child was dealing with depression?

Anzu knew her mother wanted her to be happy but it was difficult for her. How could she be happy when her brother hated her. She had tried everything she could think of to get Neji to like her but nothing ever worked. Anzu wanted Neji to be there for her because she would be there for him if he needed her. Anzu thought about making friends and thought about what her mother said to her once more.

Maybe I could be happy if I had a friend or two that could cheer me up and help me forget about my jerk of a brother, Anzu thought as she looked at the academy.

"Anzu, hurry up or we're going to be late." Neji said to Anzu coldly. She frowned as she looked at her brother.

She turned to look at her mother once again. "I'll try mom, I promise. I can't guarantee that I'll make any friends on the first day though. I'll see you later." Anzu sighed as she followed her brother into the academy.

Anzu followed Neji throughout the academy, he had told her that he'd escort her to her class before going to his own since it was her first day. "See you later." Anzu said to him, she frowned when Neji didn't say anything back. Anzu watched as Neji walked away, when he was out of sight she let out a frustrated sigh. "What's the point of having a brother if he's just going to hate me." Anzu growled, a slight growl could be heard within her voice.

Anzu hadn't realized that one of her classmates was standing behind her and he had heard what she had said. That boy happened to be Kiba Inuzuka. When Anzu turned around she and Kiba exchanged surprised glances with one another for a moment before we walked into our classroom. As Anzu looked around she noticed the rookie nine scattered through out the class.

Ino, Sakura, Hinata, Choji, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Naruto, Shino, and Kiba was right behind me. Anzu thought as another burst of excitement filled her entire being. She hadn't been this happy in such a long time and it was such an amazing emotion to feel. Anzu looked for an empty seat so she could sit down. She saw that the seat next to Naruto hadn't been taken yet so that's where she decided she would sit. "I hope you don't mind if I sit next to you." Anzu said politely before sitting down. "No, I don't mind at all!" Naruto replied a bit loudly as a huge grin came to his face. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! who're you?" He asked, energetically introducing himself.

"I wouldn't talk to him if I were you." The student behind Anzu said, their voice seemed to be filled with disgust. How rude, Anzu thought silently as she turned to glare at the boy who spoke. "Excuse me, why don't you mind your own business and let me talk to who I want to talk to instead of butting in when you don't even know me!" Anger filled Anzu's quiet voice. Anzu was like her cousin Hinata when it came to speaking quietly but when Anzu is angry she'll tell you her opinion quite bluntly.

The kid looked at Anzu as a shocked expression made its way onto his face. He held his hands up. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry alright." He replied, the boy certainly didn't want to see Anzu get any angrier.

Anzu looked back over at Naruto, who stared at her in awe. "I'm sorry about that, now were were we. My name is Anzu Hyuga. It's quite nice to meet you Naruto." She replied, smiling a bit. "You know you didn't have to be so mean to the guy Anzu." Naruto said, glancing back at the kid who spoke to Anzu. "Yes I did! He was being really rude when he told me that I shouldn't talk to you. I'd put him in his place if he did it again too." She said, crossing her arms. Anzu had a mixture of personalities that made her unique. She could be shy but if you made her mad she'd be one of the the feistiest girl you'd ever meet. She saw Naruto's eyes widen when she pretty much threatened to beat the kid behind her up if he continued being rude.

Remind me not to make her mad, Naruto thought, gulping a bit.

Anzu cocked her head to the side, she was a bit confused. "Is something wrong Naruto?" Anzu asked curiously. Naruto brought his hands up a bit, waving them a little. "No, no, everything's alright." He said as a grin returned to his face. "Believe it!" He added, saying his signature catch phrase. That made Anzu smile. "Good, that makes me happy."

"Good morning class." Iruka said as he came into the classroom. "I'm Iruka-Sensei and I'm going to be your teach, I'll train and prepare you all so you can grow to be outstanding ninja" Iruka paused for a moment as he walked to stand in the front of the class. "We'll begin with role call" He said before pointing to one of the students. "We'll start with you."

The girl Iruka pointed too had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Anzu already knew who she was though. "My name is Ino Yamanaka, it's nice to meet all of you!" She said as a large smile came to her face.

Everyone else began to introduce themselves as well. Next was Shino, then Sasuke, and Kiba, and so on until it got to Anzu. Nervousness overtook Anzu and she felt her body begin to tremble. Naruto noticed this and frowned. He watched as Anzu bit her lip. She swallowed hard before taking a deep breath. "M-My name is A-Anzu H-Hyuga." She said as loud as her quiet voice would allow her. No one seemed to hear her though.

"Could you repeat that please?" Iruka asked.

Anzu heard a slight growl come from Naruto. She glanced at him and he looked back at her. "She said her name is Anzu Hyuga!" Naruto said loudly, helping her out. Anzu knew he didn't have to do that but he did and she really appreciated it. "T-Thanks Naruto." She said thankfully.

Naruto smiled at Anzu. "Don't sweat it, I was just helping out my friend. We are friends, right Anzu?"

It broke Anzu's heard when she heard him even ask. She knew he was expecting her to say that they weren't friends because of how he has always been treated. "Of course we're friends Naruto!"

Anzu saw his look of worry fade away and a relieved look replaced it. "Great, I'm happy to hear that." He said, chuckling a bit. Anzu knew that a friendship had sparked between her and Naruto and it was one of the best things that had happened to her so far. She never wanted their friendship to end.

Anzu finally had a friend that she could call her own. That made her ecstatic.

* * *

Today Iruka taught us all about chakra and what it was for. Anzu felt it was rather boring considering Lord Hiashi had taught her about chakra during one of their training sessions. Neji, Anzu, and Hinata trained with Lord Hiashi a lot, even when they were young so they could get a bit of a head start before they started their days at the academy.

"Chakra is essential to even the most basic technique. Through various methods, the most common of which are hand seals, chakra can be controlled and manipulated to create an effect that would not be possible otherwise, such as walking on water, exhaling fire, or creating illusions." Iruka explained, pausing a for a moment. It wasn't long until he continued speaking.

"Chakra is ordinarily not visible to the unaided eye unless it is highly concentrated or manifested in large amounts. This is rarely seen due to the restrictions of eight specific tenketsu known as the eight gates, which limit the amount of chakra an individual can release at a single given time." He added as he taught the class the things they'd need to know.

Even though Anzu knew all of this already she still took notes so she could look back at them whenever she needed a reminder about everything she would learn. She knew that the notes would definitely come in handy.

"Well, that's it for now class. You may be excused to go and eat lunch now." Iruka told us.

* * *

Most of the kids in class were happy that they could get up and go eat. "Finally we can leave! We've been sitting here forever!" Naruto groaned. Anzu smiled a bit and giggled. "Let's go eat lunch together, okay?" Anzu replied as she looked up at him. Naruto was a bit taller than Anzu was.

Anzu and Naruto went outside to sit beneath the warm rays of the sun and relax during their lunch period. Anzu's mother had packed a bento box for her. She looked over at Naruto who seemed to not have anything to eat. "Do you not have anything for lunch?"Anzu asked, she frowned when Naruto shook his head. "No, uh, I don't. That's okay though. I'll be fine."

Anzu noticed a second pair of chopsticks. "Mom accidentally packed two pairs of chopsticks with my lunch." She pointed out before getting the idea to share her lunch with Naruto. "Here, take the second pair, I'll share my lunch with you. You can't go throughout the whole day without eating. That's not good to do." Anzu said, offering to share with him.

"Are you sure Anzu?" Naruto asked, his eyes widened with shock, it was as if he hadn't expected Anzu to share with him. "Yes I'm sure! Don't try to change my mind either because I'm going to share with you no matter what you say!" Anzu said, holding up the bento box once more. Anzu noticed tears filled Naruto's blue eyes and it made her feel bad.

"You're the greatest Anzu, you know that? Thank you for sharing your lunch with me. I really appreciate it." He said as he gratefully took the chopsticks.

Anzu smiled as she sat her lunch in the middle of them so they both could have access to it. She was more than happy to share her lunch with him. Anzu knew exactly how everyone treated Naruto because of how many time she had watched the anime in her prior life.

Anzu promised herself that she would never abandon any of her friends, especially Naruto. She would be their for her friends just as they'd be there for her. Her friends and family would always be the most important people in her life.

Anzu still thought that all of this was a dream because it still felt so surreal and she'd been here for eight years already.

* * *

Many days had passed since Anzu and Naruto had become friends. They were together all the time. She had even invited him over for dinner occasionally. Anzu even had her mother make Naruto a bento box for lunch every day too. Naruto of course thanked her for lunch every day.

Naruto is such a great person, it's a shame that people treat him so badly just because the nine tailed fox was sealed inside of him. Anzu thought as a slight frown came to her face.

Anzu and Naruto were training at the training grounds, they were practicing their Taijutsu. Anzu had learned that Taijutsu was hand to hand combat. With all of her training she felt that she was getting better at it.

A grin came to Naruto's face as he ran at Anzu, pulling his arm back as he got ready to deliver a hard punch. Anzu did her best to dodge it, nearly getting hit in the process. Naruto and Anzu stood there, panting as they looked at one another. They had been going at this for what felt like hours now. They were exhausted from a long day of training together.

Anzu was thinking, waiting for the right time to make her move if she could find a good enough opening. "Hmm. . ." She said as she thought about all of her options. She watched as Naruto wiped away the sweat that dripped down his forehead. "This is. . . A total. . . Workout." Naruto said between breaths. Anzu nodded in agreement, he was right. Training could be a real workout sometimes but it was rather fun.

When Naruto looked down Anzu ran at him as fast as she could, trying to deliver an attack of her own. To her surprise Naruto seemed to easily block her, chuckling as he did. "You'll have to do better than that if you want to beat me Anzu. Believe it!" He said as his usual goofy grin came to his face. Anzu loved to see Naruto this happy. He was always happy and cheerful whenever she was around and she was glad that she was able to change his life, giving him a friend during his childhood so he wouldn't have to go through it alone.

"Yeah Naruto, I know. Give me some time. You know I'll kick your butt one of these days, just you wait!" Anzu replied, grinning. Anzu was more social when she and Naruto were alone but she'd return to her quiet, timid self when she was around everyone else, especially around Kiba. Anzu never wanted to say anything that would make her seem odd or anything. "Oh, I'm sure you will Anzu." Naruto replied, Anzu could hear a bit of sarcasm in his voice. "I mean it! I will beat you someday!" She said before sticking her tongue out at him.

"Hey Anzu, let's take a break. I'm exhausted from all this training." Naruto called out as he walked over to a tree that had a bit of shade beneath it to sit down. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'm tired too." Anzu replied, following Naruto.

Naruto and Anzu sat there for a while, until nearly sunset to be exact. They talked with one another as they always did. They spoke about how they would become successful ninja and how they would help everyone around them. Anzu listened as Naruto told her about how he'd become a ninja that everyone would respect and that he'd become Hokage. Naruto had big dreams that would become a reality for him in the future. Anzu would help him succeed in everything that he did, she was going to make sure of it.

Once it started to get dark Anzu looked at Naruto as she stood up. "It's getting late. We should probably head home don't you think?" Anzu looked up at the dark sky, looking at the twinkling stars. "Yeah, you're right. It is getting pretty late." Naruto replied. "Want me to walk you home?" He asked. Anzu nodded, "Sure, I'd love the company." She said cheerfully as she began to walk, Naruto began to follow her, he ran for a moment to catch up and walked beside Anzu the rest of the way.

Naruto and Anzu goofed around a bit as they walked, cracking jokes and doing silly impressions of the people that we didn't particularly like. We had fun, just like always. Naruto was always going to be one of my very best friends.

After about twenty minutes or so of walking Naruto and Anzu had reached her house. "Well, here's my stop. I'll see you tomorrow at the academy Naruto." Anzu said before giving her friend a hug.

Naruto seemed surprised, but he smiled and returned the hug. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow Anzu. Good night." He said before dashing off in the direction of his own home. Anzu watched until he was out of sight. She then went inside and directly to her room. She changed into something comfy before laying in bed. It wasn't long until she had fallen asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Another month had passed and Anzu had learned several things as she attended the academy. She learned how to use ninja weapons just as shuriken and Kunai, and she began to learn how to use the transformation jutsu. Iruka even taught everyone how to use the cloning jutsu as well. Anzu was learning everything pretty quickly, all the notes she had written down every day really helped her too. She found herself studying them all the time so she wouldn't ever forget anything.

Anzu had been in her room, reading a book about chakra natures and what kind of jutsu they could perform. She found everything pretty interesting and she wanted to learn about it all. She wondered what kind of chakra nature she had but she wasn't entirely sure.

It wasn't long until Anzu heard someone knocking on her door, she just figured it was her mother. "Come on in!" She called, still staring down at her book. She glanced over at the door when she heard it open. Anzu was surprised to see who was there. It was Neji. Anzu narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "What do you want? You're usually too busy giving me the cold shoulder and you never bother even realizing I exist." Anzu said to him, a cold tone could be heard within her voice. Anzu heard Neji sigh.

"Yeah, yeah, but I suppose I could put that aside for a day. I want you to train with me so I can get some practice in." Neji said to her. His choice of words made him sound as if he wasn't giving her a choice, making it seem as if he was going to make her train with him.

"Why should I? You always turn me down when I ask you to train with me. Give me one good reason I should train with you and then I'll decide." Anzu said as she closed her book and put it down.

Neji stood there for a moment in silence as he did as she requested, he was thinking of a reason as to why Anzu should train with him. "You're my little sister? Doesn't that count for anything?" He asked, his voice still sounded cold. "It would if you acted like a good big brother but you don't. You're such a bad brother, ignoring me, always hating on me. I never did anything to you to deserve to be treated how you treat me!" Anzu spat, gritting her teeth as she got a bit angry.

Neji sighed. "I can try to be a better brother from now on if you'd like." Little did Anzu know that Neji was lying to her. Anzu had wanted him to treat her better for some time now and she believed him when he told her that he'd be a better brother. "You really mean it?" Anzu asked, hope filled her voice as she stood up. She smiled as she ran over and hugged him. Neji tensed up but he hugged her back. "Alright, now let's go. We're wasting daylight." Neji said after Anzu let go of him. She was eager to become closer with her brother and trailed after him.

This is it, Neji and I are going to patch things up between us! Anzu thought excitedly. In the back of her mind there was a voice telling her not to trust Neji but she just pushed it away, not wanting to hear it.

* * *

Anzu and Neji had arrived at the training grounds so that they could train for a bit. Anzu hadn't realized that Neji was going to practice a specific move on her and he didn't care if it hurt her or not. He was going to use the move eight trigrams sixty-four palms attack. Anzu was just another training dummy to him. Foolish little sister, you are so gullible, Neji thought silently to himself.

Anzu stood in a defensive stance as she waited for Neji to make the first move, she knew that he was always a bit more advanced than she was. Neji was smart and Anzu knew that he could probably beat her pretty easily. "Here I come!" Neji yelled before swiftly running toward her.

Anzu tried to dodge but Neji was too fast for her to keep up with. His speed is impressive, Anzu thought silently before she had gotten hit. Anzu gritted her teeth as she felt quite a bit of pain. It didn't stop after the first hit though. As Neji used his attack he said "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Each hit hurt more than the last, this was the first time Neji had ever used an attack like this on her. By the time he had finished she was down on her knees, heavily panting. "Down already? How pathetic." Neji said coldly as he looked down at Anzu.

"N-Neji. . . What the heck. . . Why'd you use an attack like that on me?! I'm your sister!" Anzu exclaimed, confusion and anger filled her voice as she looked up at him. Neji was silent as he looked down at her. "Tell me why big brother!" Anzu screamed, demanding to know what was going on.

Neji was silent for a few minutes before he chuckled a bit. "You're such a fool Anzu. Actually believing me when I said I'd be a better brother. Why would I be kind to someone who tried to deny their destiny like you did. You're practically a traitor for that! As far as I'm concerned Anzu, I don't have a sister. I may have once but I never will again. Do you understand that?"

Anzu felt tears welling up in her eyes as she stared at him in disbelief. She wanted to tell him why she tried to escape Hiashi and the cursed mark when they were younger but she couldn't. He wouldn't believe her if she did. "You know what Neji, you're the worse brother in history! I don't think anyone else has a brother that's worse than you are. You just treat me like I'm some punching bag you can beat on anytime you like! I won't allow you to treat me like this anymore! I've always been kind to you, I've always loved you but now? Now I know I hate you!" She screamed as she forced her aching being to stand.

Anzu was still in a bit of pain but she forced herself to run away from where she and Neji were. She wanted to get as far away from him as possible. She wanted to be alone for a good, long while. Neji didn't go after her, he just watched her run away. "Pathetic." Neji muttered before going home.

* * *

Anzu ran to the nearest park, that was where she was going to hide out for a while. She found a good spot where she would be could hide away. She sat there, sobbing loudly as she thought about everything she and Neji had said to one another, her heart felt like it had been shattered into several pieces. "Why is my brother such a jerk?" Anzu asked herself as she wiped away the tears that fell from her eyes. Anzu stayed where she was for the remainder of the day.

* * *

Neji had gone home several hours ago, passing his mother when he walked into the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. "Neji, you haven't seen your sister have you? I'm a bit worried. She hasn't come home yet." She said as she looked over at him. "The last time I saw her was when we were training earlier." He replied, he wasn't lying at least.

"Would you go out and look for her please?" Neji heard his mother ask. He didn't want to but he knew he could just go out and pretend to look for her. "Okay fine. I'll go out for a bit and try and locate her." He replied.

"Thank you Neji." She replied as she watched her son leave the house. She hoped that Neji would be able to find Anzu. She didn't want anything bad to happen to her daughter.

Neji had been gone fore several hours but when he had come back he told his mother that he was unable to locate Anzu before he went to his bedroom to sleep for the night.

* * *

The night seemed to pass by agonizingly slow for Anzu, she barely slept because she wanted to make sure she stayed hidden and out of the eyes of anyone who might come around. She was extremely tired by the time morning had come. During the night Anzu had already decided that she wasn't going to go to the academy that day to avoid seeing Neji.

She had a feeling that Naruto would notice but at the moment she didn't care. Let him come and find me, she thought as she sighed. Anzu didn't realize that Naruto was going to get a bit of help when he'd come to find her.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the academy.

Naruto was sitting in class, he kept his eyes on the door, hoping that Anzu would get there soon. Anzu's never late, Naruto thought worriedly. He hoped that she was okay and that nothing happened to her. Naruto was going to find Neji later and ask him why Anzu wasn't here today.

Anzu rarely ever spoke about Neji around Naruto so he didn't know how Neji treated her so badly. He would learn about it fairly soon though when he would find Anzu.

Class seem to drag on even longer today now that Anzu hadn't been around. Naruto always had her around to get through the day. Once lunchtime had come around Naruto went over to where Neji always sat to eat he questioned him about Anzu. "Where is she?" Naruto asked Neji.

"Where's who?" Neji asked.

"Anzu, she isn't here today. Tell me where she is! Is she at home, sick?" Naruto questioned, raising his voice a bit. Neji just stared at him. "I've no clue where she is. Last place I saw her was at the training grounds yesterday when we were training." He replied "Now leave me alone." He added coldly. Naruto glared at Neji for a moment before walking away.

* * *

Once the day was over Naruto went to find Kiba to see if he could help him find Anzu. He ran around, looking for him. Naruto wanted to find Kiba as quickly as possible. "KIBA!" Naruto shouted when he had found him outside, in front of the academy.


	4. Chapter 4

**ATTENTION EVERYONE! I have rewritten chapters 1 - 3 because I wasn't too happy with how the story was coming along. I felt like everything was rushed quite a bit. I like it a lot more now that I have rewritten it. I changed it to be mostly in a third person P.O.V. I changed a lot of stuff in the past few chapters as well. Please go back and reread it. I hope my story is better than it was. Please enjoy~ Thanks to those who have reviewed, followed, and faved the story! I really appreciate it a lot! Sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter than the others! I'll get the next chapter out ASAP. I promise!**

* * *

Kiba turned to look at Naruto, he looked a bit annoyed. "What do you want?" Kiba asked a bit rudely. Naruto looked at him, he was panting a bit from how long he'd been running around, searching for Kiba. "Anzu didn't show up today and I need your help to find her." Naruto explained.

"Maybe she's just sick." Kiba pointed out. Naruto only shook his head. "I doubt that because I went and spoke to Neji. The jerk said he hasn't seen her since yesterday. He also didn't seem to care that she wasn't here!" Naruto replied angrily as he thought about how Neji had spoken to him, he clenched his fists tightly.

Kiba stood there for a minute, he knew that Neji was a bit of a jerk because he had heard a couple of conversations he and Anzu had near him before. Could she had run off because of something he had done? Kiba thought as he thought about whether he would help Naruto or not.

"So, are you going to help me or not?!" Naruto demanded, wanting Kiba to answer him.

There was a moment of silence between the two of them before Kiba finally spoke. "Okay, fine Naruto. I'll help you find her. Maybe that jerk did something that made her run off or something."

* * *

"I was thinking the same thing." Naruto replied. "As soon as I find out what he did I'm going to kill him. Anzu doesn't need to keep putting up with how he treats her. He's always giving her the cold shoulder and acts like she doesn't even exist." Naruto added as he and Kiba ran off to look for Anzu.

"Do you have anything of Anzu's that I could use to track her scent? We'll find her pretty easily if you do." Kiba said, glancing over at Naruto. "I have one of the bands she wears over her forehead." Naruto replied as he got a green band out of his pocket and handed it to Kiba. It didn't take long for him to pick up Anzu's scent after smelling the head band.

Kiba trailed her sent and first it led him and Naruto to the training grounds. They looked around for her there for quite a while. When they had searched the entire place they began to follow Anzu's scent again. This time it led them to the park, where Anzu still was.

"Anzu!" Naruto shouted, calling out for her. He was honestly getting worried since they haven't found her yet. "Come on out!" Naruto added. He and Kiba searched the entire place. After a while Kiba had found where she was.

"Naruto! she's over here!" Kiba called before looking towards Anzu's hiding place. "You can come out, I know you're there. No point in hiding when you've been found." Kiba said to her.

Anzu sighed.

She did as Kiba said and she came out of her hiding spot within the bushes. It wasn't long until Naruto practically tackled her, hugging her. "There you are! You sure had me worried Anzu!" He exclaimed loudly. Anzu just stood there in silence. She looked down towards the ground sadly. "He did something to you again didn't he?" Naruto asked, a slight growl could be heard within his voice.

Anzu was silent for a few minutes longer before she spoke. "Yeah. He did." Anzu's voice was barely above a whisper. Naruto growled , "That doesn't really surprise me from how I've seen him treat you before. He'll be sorry the next time I see him!" Naruto said, threatening to start a fight with Neji. He looked at Anzu again and asked, "What did he do? Tell me."

"Do I have to?" Anzu asked, her voice cracked a bit as she spoke. It hurt to think about the things Neji had said to her.

Kiba looked over at Anzu when he heard the sadness in her voice. Whatever Neji did to her must've been pretty bad if she's this upset, Kiba thought. He honestly felt bad for her.

"Yes, you do. You're my friend and I can't help you if I don't know what happened between you two. I hate seeing you like this Anzu, I really do." Naruto said as he pulled Anzu close to him. Anzu was glad that Naruto was her friend, he was always there for her and that made her happy.

"Okay, fine. I'll tell you." Anzu said, giving in to her friend. She began to explain everything to Naruto. She told him how Neji had lied to her to lure her to the training grounds so he could uses her as a training dummy. She then told him how he had attacked her and then she told Naruto what Neji had said to her. Telling her that as far as he was concerned that he didn't have a sister. By the end of her explanation she was crying.

Naruto was pissed, he couldn't believe that Neji would do all of that stuff. "He's so dead the next time I see him. You don't deserve to be treated that way Anzu. Neji is nothing but a big jerk!" Kiba glanced over at the two of them, he agreed with Naruto. Neji was a jerk and Anzu didn't deserve any of the crap she put up with. Kiba was glad that she was okay though.

"Please Naruto, don't go and get into a fight with Neji. It'd just be a waste of your time. Nothing will ever get him to change. I'll be fine." She whispered before looking up at him. Naruto groaned a bit, he really wanted to teach Neji a lesson for what he's done but, if Anzu didn't want him too then he wouldn't. "Fine Anzu, I won't do anything to him." Naruto said with a sigh.

"Thank you Naruto." She said softly.

"You're welcome Anzu. I'll always have your back, believe it!" He said, smiling a little. Naruto was glad that she was safe. He didn't know what he'd do if he had lost his closest friend. He'd definitely keep an eye on her if she and Neji interacted while at the academy though and he'd intervene if he had to.

* * *

After the next few hours had passed, Kiba and Naruto escorted Anzu home. She had gotten a huge hug from her mother as soon as she walked in the door. "Anzu! You're home, and you're safe!" She exclaimed as tears filled her eyes as she embraced her daughter.

"I'm sorry for running off last night mom, Neji just said something that really hurt me and I didn't want to be around him for a little while. I think I'm okay now though." Anzu said softly as she apologized to her mother.

Anzu's mother sighed. "I should have expected as much, I'm just glad you're safe. You had me so worried and I thought something might've happened to you. Go get yourself cleaned up my dear."

Anzu nodded before she went to get cleaned up. After getting a shower and something to eat she went up to her room and she stayed there for the rest of the night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Thanks for sticking with me and my story! Sorry for another short chapter. I really need to not write when it's late at night when ideas are hard for me to obtain haha. Hope you enjoy as always. I'd love to hear any feedback and ideas that any of you have.**

* * *

"Happy birthday Anzu!" Anzu heard Naruto and Kiba say to her when they saw her at the academy. Naruto and Kiba still didn't get along all that well but they tried to when Anzu was around because they both had become her closest friends. Anzu blushed a bit as she smiled. "Thanks you guys. It's not that big of a deal though. She never really liked to make a big deal out of her birthday. Anzu was ten years old now and she was getting closer to graduating from the academy with her friends. They only had a couple years to go.

"Why not? You should celebrate it and have fun." Kiba said as he threw an arm around Anzu, grinning a bit. A light blush covered her cheeks. "I-I guess so." Anzu replied, stuttering a bit. She had been friends with Kiba for a couple of years now and she still wasn't used to close contact like this.

"Since you feel we should celebrate it, why don't the two of you come by my house tonight for dinner. My mother and I would be the only ones celebrating it and I'd like to have my two best friends to celebrate with too." Anzu said, hoping that they'd accept her invite to come over tonight. "Of course we will. You can count on us to come and celebrate Anzu. Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he pumped his fist into the air. It always made Anzu smile when he did so.

"I love you guys, I don't know where I'd be without you." Anzu said as she hugged her two friends tightly. "We don't even want to think about where you'd be without us. We're just glad you happier than you used to be." Kiba replied, placing a hand on her shoulder. Anzu knew he was right, she knew they knew she would be in a bad state of mind without them.

"Alright so it's settled then. We'll all celebrate tonight at my place!" Anzu ecstatically exclaimed as she clapped her hands together. Happy smirks came to the faces of Naruto and Kiba as they nodded. They couldn't wait to celebrate with Anzu.

* * *

The day at the academy seemed to pass pretty quickly for once and they all met up after school. Akamaru barked when he noticed Anzu as she got closer. "Hey guys!" Anzu called out as she ran over to Naruto and Kiba.

Anzu smiled when Akamaru leapt from Kiba's arms and into her own arms. His tongue lolled out of his mouth a bit as he looked up at her. "Hello again Akamaru." Anzu beamed as she pulled him into a gentle hug. It was clear that Anzu loved being around animals no matter what they were. She did favor dogs and cats more than anything though. "Akamaru sure does like you Anzu." Naruto commented as he looked at her. "Naruto you idiot. If you ever paid enough attention when she's around animals you'd see that they all take a liking to her. She's a natural with them." Kiba pointed out.

Naruto crossed his arms and looked away. "I guess you're right." He muttered. "Of course I'm right." Kiba replied as a grin came to his face. Anzu couldn't help but smile as she watched her friends, it was a bit amusing to hear them and how they spoke to each other.

"You two ready to head over to my place?" Anzu asked. Naruto opened his mouth to reply but Kiba was the first to speak. "You bet Anzu." He grinned when he heard Naruto growl. Anzu couldn't help but to laugh a little. "Let's go then!" She said as she took off, still holding Akamaru in her arms.

"Hey! Wait up!" Naruto called as he and Kiba followed after her. Anzu was having fun. "You can't catch me!" She shouted as she glanced back at them. "You wanna bet Anzu?" Naruto challenged as he tried to push himself to run faster.

They decided to race to Anzu's house and Anzu ended up winning. "Told you that you couldn't catch me." She said as she stuck her tongue out at them. The three of them were panting a bit, tired from all the running they had just done. "Yeah, you beat us fair and square." Kiba said, rubbing the back of his head.

Anzu opened the door to her house and they all went inside. "Welcome home Anzu." She heard her mother say. "Hey mom. I hope you don't mind, I told Kiba and Naruto that they could come and celebrate my birthday with us."

"I don't mind at all dear." She replied, smiling, "It's nice to see you again boys." She added. "Hey Mrs. Hyuga." Kiba said, greeting her politely. Anzu noticed Kiba and Naruto looking around, there was no doubt that they were looking to see if Neji was around.

* * *

They all hung out for quite some time. When Neji got home his mother pretty much forced him to stay and celebrate. Anzu, Kiba, and Naruto knew he'd rather be somewhere else. The two boys glared at him until they heard Anzu as she cleared her throat to get their attention.

They celebrated by having cake and then they all went out to eat at one of the restaurants that Choji's family owned. Everyone had a good time aside from Neji who was just annoyed by the entire fiasco. After he had eaten he got up and left. "I'm leaving mother. I honestly would rather be somewhere else." He said, his cold voice didn't have a bit of kindness in it.

Naruto and Kiba both clenched their fists. "Who do you think you are?! You really want to miss out on Anzu's birthday?!" Naruto yelled as he got up and stood in front of Neji. "Why should I care what some loser like you has to say to me." Neji replied as his glare met Naruto's blue eyes.

Naruto only seemed to get angrier every time Neji acted like this and Anzu knew it was only a matter of time before she wouldn't be enough to keep Naruto from going at him. She knew that Naruto and Kiba both wanted to fight Neji because of how he acted. I was honestly about to let them.

Neji turned to look at Anzu. "Call off your friend. Now!" He demanded angrily. Anzu turned to look at Neji as she gritted her teeth. "What if I don't want to?" She asked "What are you going to do if I don't?" Anzu was trying her hardest not to speak the way she did in her prior life. In it she cursed a lot on a daily basis and since she was young here she knew she wouldn't be able to curse until she was older. She wanted to tell Neji how much of a bitch he was but she resisted the urge to.

Anzu was surprised when she saw her mother stand up, anger was the only emotion that could be seen on her face. Anzu had never seen her mother this angry and it honestly scared her a bit."Neji! You quit acting this way towards your sister this instant! I don't know why you keep treating her this way but it needs to stop now sit your ass down and behave!"

Neji just looked at her, his eyes were wide with shock. He had never seen his mother this angry. He said nothing but he sat back down. He didn't even apologize to Anzu. He knew his mother wanted him to but he wasn't going to give her any more satisfaction.

Their mother let out a sigh, she knew her son was a handful when it came to acting like this. No matter how many times she told him to knock it off he only seemed to get worse. "You're such a handful Neji, I don't know what to do with you anymore." She looked over at him to realize that he was ignoring her. Neji seemed to be ignoring everyone. The only time he acknowledged anyone was when it came to leaving the restaurant to go home.

Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru left when they exited the restaurant. They told Anzu happy birthday once more before saying that they'd see her later. She waved as she watched them leave.

 _Why can't they be with me all the time?_ Anzu thought sadly as she looked at her mother and Neji. Anzu was lonely whenever she was at home. She quietly trailed after her brother and her mother as they headed home. She ended up getting lost in her thoughts on the way. _All mom does is yell at Neji whenever she sees him giving me the cold shoulder. . . It just makes everything worse. I know Neji is like this because he doesn't trust me but I don't know what I could do to get him to trust me.  
_


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello all you lovely people! Sorry for not posting anything the past couple of days. Here's a longer chapter this time. I hope you like it! Thanks to those who followed and added the story to their favorites. Thank you to those who have reviewed the story as well. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter because one of my all time favorite characters is within it. Please enjoy.~**

* * *

Morning seemed to quickly come and Anzu tried to forget what happened last night at the restaurant. Anzu completed her morning routine just as she did every morning. Anzu left the house without eating anything, and said goodbye to her mother as she left.

Anzu was surprised that Naruto and Kiba weren't here, they normally met her here and they'd walk to the academy together. "Looks like I'm walking by myself." Anzu looked up at the clear blue sky and smiled a bit. "Hopefully today will be a good day." She added, trying to stay positive as she ran off.

Anzu knew that they would be practicing the transformation Jutsu. Anzu took her usual seat in between Naruto and Kiba when she got to the academy. It wasn't long until Iruka-sensei walked in. "Good morning class. Today we'll work on your Transformation jutsus. Let's see you transform into Lord Hokage." Iruka said loudly so that everyone could hear him. A

Anzu wasn't the best when it came to using the transformation Jutsu but she was getting better every time she used it. She just needed to keep practicing all of the skills she had so she could better them.

Naruto was one of the first ones to be called up. "Oh boy, here we go." Anzu whispered quietly to herself as a smirk came to her face. She knew what Naruto would look like and it took everything she had to keep herself from howling with laughter. Not laughing at the things Naruto does is harder than it seems.

"Transform!" Naruto shouted as a cloud of smoke surrounded him. Anzu bit her lip as she started to quietly giggle. Naruto did turn into the Hokage but he had ginormous lips and he looked quite funny. Anzu watched as Iruka let out a frustrated sigh as he placed the palm of his hand onto his forehead. That was when everyone else in class began to laugh.

Anzu glanced at Kiba who was beside her, he was asleep. He normally would fall asleep in class. Anzu rolled her eyes before turning to look down at Naruto and Iruka.

"What's going on?" Kiba asked as everyone's laughter had woken him. "I was having such a nice nap." He added. Anzu looked at him. "You don't need to be having a nap at all Kiba." She said as a slight grin came to her face.

Naruto laughed as he transformed back into his own self. He lifted a hand as he said, "Just kidding! Just kidding! You didn't think that was for real did you?"He asked, rubbing the back of his head. "That's enough Naruto! It's your third year at the academy now straighten up!" Iruka scolded, pointing at the blonde haired boy. "Ehh!" Was Naruto's response.

"How pathetic." Kiba muttered. "Be nice Kiba! He's trying his hardest. Just because he likes to have fun doesn't mean he's pathetic." Anzu said as the amusement left her face when she looked at him.

Anzu's attention was soon on two boys who had just switched to their class not to long ago. "I'm sure glad we switched to this class. This guy's hysterical!" The other boy then says "Yeah, he sure keeps things interesting doesn't he."

Kiba scoffed. "Mr. Popularity. . ." That only made Anzu glare at him. "Keep it up and I'll punch you Kiba." She growled. It was rare for Anzu to get mad and when she did Kiba and Naruto both knew to run for it.

"Try it again and no fooling around!" Iruka shouted, pointing at Naruto once more. "Uh! Transform!" Naruto said quickly. The same thing happened once more. Naruto did turn into the Hokage but he still had huge lips. A drawn out groan could be heard from Iruka.

"Incredible. . . Are you serious?" Iruka asked. The entire class began to laugh again, Kiba joined them this time. Anzu couldn't help but to laugh as well. "Is he for real? He's been here for three years and can't do a decent transformation?! What a joke!" Kiba called out before his laughter continued.

"You just wait! Someday I'm going to be Hokage for real! Then you'll be sorry!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the class. "Ha! Yeah right! On what planet?!" Kiba asked Naruto stood there, shaking in anger.

Anzu growled as she pulled back her arm. It wasn't long until her fist came into contact with the side of Kiba's head. "Ow!" Kiba shouted as he clutched his head with his hands. "I told you I'd punch you if you didn't shut up. Didn't I!" She replied.

* * *

Anzu noticed that Kiba was being quite cautious every time he would say something to her while they were at the academy. _He's probably afraid I'll clobber him._ Anzu thought as she giggled a bit. She knew she probably over did it when she hit him but she didn't care. Anzu would teach people not to make her mad and she felt Kiba certainly learned his lesson.

Anzu was on her way home, she was starting to think about graduation. She knew it'd be coming within the next year or so. The thought of it was both exciting and frightening. Soon she would become a ninja and she would put her life on the line during the countless missions she would go on in order to protect those around her.

"I can't believe that my friends and I will soon become ninja." She said aloud as she headed home. Naruto and Kiba weren't with her this time, they had made plans to do other things today. Anzu didn't mind though because she'd either see them later or another day in general.

Anzu didn't have much going on today so she figured she'd spend the rest of the day training somehow. She wasn't sure what to practice or what she needed to focus on more. She could work on her jutsu, or practice using her Byakugan, or she could read some more about chakra natures and types. As she arrived at her house she decided that she would read. She would see what she could do to figure out what her chakra nature was. That had always facinated her and she'd figure it out one way or another.

* * *

Anzu went straight to her room and over to the pile of books she had sitting on the side table next to her bed and picked up the one on the top. She opened it and began flipping through the pages. "Let's see, where did I last leave off." She soon stopped when she found her place. She was reading stuff about people who have a water based chakra nature.

Anzu loved to read, she read through the book quite quickly but it wasn't the only time she read it. She read over the book at least one or two more times. She took notes on some of the more important facts about chakra natures so she would be able to access them easily.

This took up the remainder of the day and pretty late into the night. It wasn't until after midnight when she went to bed. Anzu sighed when she looked at the clock, it read 12:25am. "Seems like I stay up later each night that passes. Insomnia seems to be a curse for me here too." She muttered as she laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling.

She laid there for over an hour, tossing and turning as she tried to get comfortable. Anzu let out a small growl as she began to get annoyed with her insomnia. "Can't you leave me alone and let me sleep?" She quietly asked. "I hate insomnia. . ." Anzu muttered unhappily. After a what felt like a long time she was able to fall asleep.

By the time morning came Anzu didn't want to wake up. She was tired, and a bit grouchy. She certainly wasn't going to be in the mood for anything. She wished she could just sleep all day but she knew today was the day Neji graduated from the academy and that they'd all probably go and celebrate with the team he'd be placed on, which was Gai-Sensei's team. _I wonder if I'd be able to get Lee and TenTen to like me. . ._ Anzu thought silently. She was afraid that they wouldn't like her. She thought that way about each of the rookie nine but most of them were quite nice to her.

* * *

Anzu watched as Neji sat down across from her at the kitchen table to eat something for breakfast. She wanted to try and start another conversation with him but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She just heaved a small sigh before getting up. Anzu didn't even eat anything, she didn't feel hungry at all.

"Are you feeling alright Anzu?" She heard her mother ask. Anzu looked at her. "Yeah mom, I'm fine. I'm just not very hungry. That's all." Anzu replied. Her answer made her mother frown. "Alright dear, if you say so."

Anzu would sometimes go days at a time without eating every now and again. Her appetite comes and goes whenever it feels like and it was easy to see that drained her a bit when it comes to how much energy she had. Kiba and Naruto sometimes took her out for something to eat and pretty much forced her to eat something even if she only ate a little.

Even though she was a lot happier thanks to having Naruto and Kiba as her friends she still dealt with her depression off and on. It wasn't as bad as it was when she was younger though, and it certainly wasn't as bad as when she had lived in her past life.

* * *

Several hours had passed and Anzu and Neji had returned home from the academy, they had someone special with them though. The one, the only, Gai-Sensei. Anzu was so happy to have finally met him. Next to Kakashi, he was one of her favorite Senseis. She and Gai had a small conversation on the way here, she was a bit shy since it was the first time she'd met him. Gai did try and get her to come out of her shell a bit more but that didn't happen.

"Mom, we're home!" Anzu called out. "So, that's what you actually sound like. Why don't you speak loudly like that a bit more Anzu." Gai said before giving her his signature smile. She couldn't help but to smile, she was just so ecstatic to be around him. "I uh, guess I could try to Gai-Sensei." She replied softly.

"Don't count on it sensei. You'll only hear her if Naruto or Kiba are around her." Neji stated blatantly. Anzu glared at him. "Shut up Neji, no one asked for your opinion." She hissed. Neji was surprised to have heard Anzu speak that way to him. He shot a cold glare at her, warning her to be quiet. Gai got in between them. "Calm down you two, there's no need for all this fighting." Gai looked up when he saw their mother. "Oh hello. I'm sorry for the behavior of my children. There's never any peace in this house when they're together." She said apologetically.

"It's quite alright Mrs. Hyuga. They're nothing I can't handle. I can promise you that." Gai replied as he gave her a thumbs up.

* * *

Neji and Anzu just stood there with their arms crossed as they continued to glare at one another. Gai kept an eye on the two of them as he spoke with their mother. "I wanted to come buy to invite you and sweet little Anzu to celebrate the new formation of Team Gai tonight." Gai said to her. "Sweet is not the word I would have chosen."Neji muttered.

Anzu clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "Why don't you shut the hell up Neji!" Anzu snapped. "Anzu!" Their mother scolded when her daughter cursed at her brother. Anzu looked up at her. "I'm sorry mom but I'm just so. . . So sick of Neji! He thinks he's so much better than everyone and it's ticking me off." Anzu ran off to her room and slammed the door. Gai let out a sigh as he gave Neji a stern look. "You and I are going to have a little chat later you got that." He said to the boy. Any kindness that Gai once had in his voice was now gone. Gai was definitely going to punish Neji for his behavior. His punishments would no undoubtedly be filled with all sorts of training related things. "Whatever." Neji replied, still standing with his arms crossed.

Gai-Sensei soon said his farewell to Mrs. Hyuga and he went to go inform TenTen and Lee about the get together they were having to celebrate the formation of their team.

* * *

After a while Anzu heard a knock on her door. "Who is it?" She asked, her voice wavered a bit since she had been crying. Anzu may hide it but she's as delicate as a flower when it came to how sensitive she could be. "It's me my little apricot. I came to tell you that it was time to leave." Anzu looked over at the door that her mother held open. "Do I have to go?" Anzu asked. Social events left her feeling anxious. "I think you know the answer to that dear. We have to support your brother and I'm sure you'll have fun when you meet his new teammates."

Anzu looked down and sighed. "I guess you're right, we do have to support him even though he's an arrogant jerk who thinks he's better than everyone." Anzu stood up and walked over to her mother. "Are you going to be okay?" She heard her mother's sad voice ask. "I'll be fine. I promise." Anzu replied as she tried to force a smile to her face, she was unable to smile right now though. She hoped that being around Gai, Lee, and TenTen would help her cheer up. Anzu knew Lee would be nice because he was a little mini-Gai-Sensei. "Let's go. We don't want to be late." Anzu said, her voice was barely above a whisper.

Anzu walked past her mother and headed for the living room. Neji was there waiting. Anzu paid no attention to him as she waited for her mother. The three of them soon left to go meet Guy, Lee, and TenTen. Anzu felt anxious and she was trembling a bit. I have to get over this anxiety I feel when I have to be around other people. Anzu thought as she bit her bottom lip. The walk to the restaurant was quiet until we got there. Gai-Sensei called out to to them to get their attention. Anzu noticed the look of concern on Gai's face. She quickly looked away.

Lee looked at his Sensei. "Is she going to be okay Gai-Sensei?" He whispered. Gai sighed. "It's hard to tell Lee." He replied before turning to look at everyone. "Let's go in and eat shall we?" Gai suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement as they walked into the restaurant. As everyone sat down at a table Anzu noticed she was sitting next to Lee. It wasn't long until she realized he was staring at her.

Anzu looked over at him. "Excuse me, I'm not trying to be rude but why are you staring at me?" She asked "I am sorry Anzu. I was just admiring your beauty." He replied calmly. Anzu felt the heat rising to her cheeks as she blushed. She wasn't exactly sure what to say in response to that. "M-My beauty? I'm not sure I even have any." She replied, sighing a bit as she looked down at the table. "Do not say that! If Neji told you that you are not beautiful then you need to ignore his false words!" Lee exclaimed, making it clear that he knew how Neji treated her. Anzu wondered if Gai had told him. She wasn't mad if he did because she knew Lee would just find out eventually and it wouldn't make a difference.

Anzu had grown to hate everything about herself because of Neji and Lee seemed to quickly take notice of that. "Please ignore everything that Neji says to you because he certainly doesn't seem to know what he is talking about. I would never hurt you the way he does, I would never hurt you at all Anzu." Lee said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Anzu stared at him with wide eyes. She had expected Lee to be nice but she hadn't expected him to admit that he liked her. She couldn't help but to smile a little. "You're really sweet Lee. Thank you for your kind words." Anzu was still blushing a bit. She did like Lee even though he had an odd appearance. Looks didn't matter to her, she cared about the personality that people had when it came to relationship things. "You are very welcome!" Lee said as a smile came to his face. He even gave her his signature thumbs up. That made her giggle a little.

She glared at Neji when she heard a humph come from him. "Oh shut up Neji. No one needs any of your negativity. You should be much nicer to your sister." Lee snapped. Neji didn't say anything but he rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to respond to Lee.

Anzu started having a better time now that she and Lee had started talking. The two of them ignored Neji whenever he would try to say anything. Lee snapped at Neji each time he said something negative towards Anzu. Lee seemed to be just as protective of her as Naruto and Kiba were. She was glad to have people like them in her life.

* * *

A few hours had seemed to quickly pass since had started a good time. She was honestly a bit sad when it was time to go home. She was having such a good time with Lee, and even TenTen when they occasionally spoke to one another. TenTen was really nice too.

"I shall see you later Anzu. I had fun tonight." Lee said, beaming happily. Anzu smiled. "I had a lot of fun too. Hopefully we can hang out again soon Lee." She giggled when she saw the shocked look that came to his face, it was as if he hadn't expected her to want to hang out again so soon. He soon smiled again. "Yes, I would like that very much. See you all later."

Lee waved as he watched Neji and Anzu leave with their mother. Gai-Sensei stood next to him. "It seems like that young lady has seemed to have stolen your heart. Hasn't she Lee." Lee looked up at Gai-Sensei, a slight blush covered his cheeks. "It would appear so. I wonder why Neji acts the way he does to her. I will teach him a lesson if he keeps it up. I won't just stand by and let her suffer because of his carelessness." Lee said as he balled his hands into fists. "You're a good kid Lee and I can tell that Anzu's happy now that you've become one of her friends." Gai said, looking down at Lee. "I am so proud of you." He added happily.

Life was going to be even more interesting now that Lee was in it. She wondered what kind of things would be happening now. She smiled as she thought of the possibilities. She and Lee could hang out when he wasn't busy, they could also train together too.

 _I guess the saying good things come to those who wait is true after all._ Anzu thought happily.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey-O everyone! Here's the next chapter. Sorry I haven't posted for a couple of days. I've been a bit busy. I'm having a blast writing this story. I hope you all are enjoying it. Here's chapter seven for you all to enjoy.~**

* * *

Anzu had a hard time falling asleep that night, all she thought about was Lee. She wondered how Neji would deal with him and she wondered how Lee would put up with Neji. "Hopefully Neji doesn't become too much of a bother to him. Gai-Sensei will put Neji in his place though." She said as she thought aloud to herself as she looked up at the ceiling. She closed her grey eyes and smiled a little. "Lee is a great guy though, I can't wait until I can see him again." She said with a happy sigh. Anzu rolled onto her side as she tried to get comfortable so that way she could sleep.

Anzu soon fell into a peaceful slumber. She once again had a dreamless slumber, that seemed to happen more and more lately. She got up early the next morning so she could go and get an entire day of training..

She headed in the direction of the training grounds, humming to herself a bit as she walked. When she got there she noticed Gai and his team. She stood there for a minute watching them, she thought about what to do. She wondered if she should train with them or whether she should leave them alone.

Anzu decided not to bother them but as soon as she turned to leave she heard someone call her name. The voice belonged to Lee. She turned around and smiled, "Hey Lee." She greeted as she waved at him.

"How are you today Anzu?" Lee asked, trying to start a conversation. Lee motioned for Anzu to follow him, leading her away from where Gai, Neji, and TenTen were. "I'm doing good Lee." She replied, clearly lying.

"Do not lie to me!" Lee said as a stern tone took over his voice. "I'm no-" She began before lee held up a hand. "Do not even say you are not lying. I can see it in your eyes that you are hiding something. Please tell me what it is that you are trying to hide. Neji said something to you last night at home didn't he?"

Anzu frowned, she should have expected that she wouldn't be able to hide anything from Lee. He was too smart for that. Anzu felt bad for trying to hide her true feelings from someone who obviously cared for her. "Yes, he did but. . . It's not important." She saw a frown come to Lee's face. "But it is important Anzu, I do not like seeing you like this. What did Neji say to you?" Anzu thought about it for a moment. She knew Lee would get her to tell him one way or another since he was so persistent. "He told me that even though you and Gai-Sensei will get on him about it that it isn't going to get him to treat me any better." Anzu said as she looked down. She felt tears fill her eyes. "He also said that nothing would get him to consider me as his sister and that even though we're blood relatives that I'll never be a sister to him." Anzu's voice wavered as she spoke as a few tears fell to the ground.

Lee suddenly pulled Anzu close to him, holding her in a tight embrace. "He is such a jerk. He needs to realize that family is important. Friends are equally as important as well. I wish he would give you a break because from what I've heard from Gai-Sensei it seems Neji's always been treating you this way. It makes me so mad!"

"He has always treated me this way and if anyone gets on him about it he just gets worse, and worse, and worse. I just want it to stop. I'd give anything for it to stop." Anzu whispered as some more tears slid down her face. Lee's embrace tightened a bit. He frowned as he felt her body tremble. Lee would do anything he could to get Neji to quit treating Anzu so badly.

"Do not worry Anzu. I will do whatever I can to get Neji to realize how important you truly are and that he needs to treat you with respect." Lee promised. He would see his promise through to the end. Anzu looked up at him and smiled a little. "Thank you Lee. You don't have to do anything though. I'll be fine."

Anzu heard Lee sigh. "You need to stop pretending that you'll be fine. It isn't good to lie to yourself. I will help even if you don't want me to. You do not expect me to stand by and just let Neji mistreat you do you?" Anzu shook her head. "I suppose not. I'll accept your help and I'll be sure to let you know if Neji gets any worse." She replied "Thank you very much Lee. I really do appreciate it."

Anzu knew that she was keeping Lee from his training and knew she'd have to go soon. She also heard TenTen's voice as she called for Lee. It was clear that she and the others were wondering where he had run off too since it wasn't like Lee to run off. "Looks like I need to get back to my training. I will see you later Anzu." He said, looking back in the direction his teammates were in. Anzu grabbed onto his arm as he started to walk away. "Wait a second Lee." She said softly. "What is it Anzu?" He asked, confusion filled his voice. Anzu had to stand on her tip toes since he was a bit taller than she was. She had done something that Lee had never expected. She kissed his cheek before walking away. "See you later Lee.~" She called back as she waved. Lee just stood there. His face was as red as a tomato and his eyes were opened as wide as they could go. _Why Neji would be so cruel to a sweet girl like Anzu is beyond me_ , Lee thought to himself.

TenTen soon found Lee, and noticed his red face and surprised expression as he stared off into the distance. "Are you okay Lee?" TenTen asked. He looked at her and smiled. "Yes TenTen. I am more than fine. I'm great!" He said, grinning happily. "I ran into Anzu and we had a small conversation." He added. A smirk came to TenTen's face. "Seems like you've got a bit of a crush on her." TenTen said as she nudged his arm with her elbow.

Lee blushed a bit. "W-What makes you say that TenTen?" He asked as he began to get a bit flustered. "Hmm, I don't know. Maybe your red face and the shocked look I saw on your face when I found you." She stated. TenTen's grin never left her face. Lee's face only seemed to darken in color as he blushed. "Okay, so maybe I do. What does it matter?" Lee questioned. "It's not a bad thing. I was just a bit curious Lee." TenTen replied, as she giggled a little. "You two do look cute together." She added.

"R-Really?" Lee asked, surprised by TenTen's words. She nodded. "I need to find a way to get Neji to like her. Why he'd be so mean to a sweet girl like Anzu is way beyond me and she has done nothing wrong to deserve to be disrespected. I need to know I can count on you and Gai-Sensei to help me with this TenTen. Neji is such a jerk and I know that deep down Anzu wants Neji to love her just as an older brother should. Even though she won't say anything I know that's her heart's desire. Depression is quickly taking a hold of her and she doesn't need that because only bad things will happen if it does. I do not want anything bad to happen to Anzu. I won't be able to bare seeing something bad happen to such a kind girl." Lee said as he looked at TenTen. Lee almost seemed desperate for her to help him. "I'll help you Lee, I'll do anything I can to assist you with that. I don't understand why he mistreats her. I really like Anzu. I'm hoping she and I can become better friends." TenTen replied.

"Thank you TenTen I appreciate it very much." Lee said in a grateful tone as they headed back to where Gai and Neji were. "I found him Gai-Sensei!" TenTen called out as they got back. Lee glared at Neji and Neji glared right back. "Do you have a problem with me Lee? If so why don't you do something about it instead of just glaring at me." Neji said arrogantly. Lee growled and let out a loud battle cry as he ran at Neji. Lee was ready to attack him without hesitation.

Lee drew his arm back as he attempted to punch Neji, whom dodged before the punch had landed. Lee's fist came into contact with the tree Neji had been leaning against. "If you're trying to hit me then you'll need to do better than that Lee." Neji's arrogance only angered Lee even more. "Why are you such a jerk to everyone around you?!" Lee asked, demanding an answer. "Why should I even tell you?" Neji retorted, growling as he blocked another of Lee's punches.

Lee stood there, scanning the area around him. He also continuously watched Neji's movements, waiting to see if he'd let his guard down at all. Lee's eyes met Neji's angry eyes. They glared at each other for several minutes before Neji turned around to walk away. "You'll need to get on a higher level if you ever want to beat me Lee." Neji muttered. As Neji walked away Lee ran at him, aiming to kick him this time. To Lee's surprise his attack landed. It sent Neji back a bit. "Are you trying to get onto my bad side?" Neji asked. When he ran at Lee he was stopped by Gai-Sensei.

"Stop fighting you two. You're not supposed to fight to intentionally harm each other. Lee, I know you're upset but you need to control your anger." Gai said as he looked down at Lee. "Alright Sensei. I am sorry." Lee said, bowing respectfully. Gai let out a frustrated sigh when he heard Neji mutter something. "Pathetic." Gai glared at Neji. "So Lee's pathetic is he? You want to know what is pathetic Neji? You are. The way you treat Anzu and everyone around you is pathetic. You need to grow up and realize that you're not better than everyone else. If you're going to be a ninja you need to abandon that arrogant attitude of yours." Gai scolded angrily. His blood began to boil when he heard Neji speak again. "Yes Sensei."

Lee stood there as he looked at Neji. "Do you not realize how much you are hurting her? All Anzu wishes for is for you to accept and love her. You are Anzu's brother and you should care about her. You need to be lucky that you have a family to care for. You should also be lucky that you have a family that cares for you. Not all of us have that luxury Neji."

Neji was silent and it appeared that he was thinking about what Lee had just said to him. Would it be enough to get him to change though or would it take more to do so? Lee was right though, not everyone had the luxury of having a family that cared for them. Some people didn't have any family members at all, like Lee and TenTen.

* * *

Meanwhile, with Anzu. She couldn't stop smiling, she'd been smiling since she had kissed Lee's cheek a while ago. She felt her heart race as she thought about him and how heroic he seemed when he said he'd do whatever he took to save her from Neji's wrath. She liked Lee more than she had ever realized. He may be a bit odd every now and again but who couldn't. He was kind and would do anything for those he cares about and that's what Anzu liked the most.

Anzu was deep into her thoughts and she had bumped into Kiba and fell backwards a bit. Kiba grabbed onto her hand before she hit the ground. "Whoa, Anzu, are you okay?" He asked. She blushed a bit and sheepishly laughed. "Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry for crashing into you Kiba. I should have paid more attention to where I was going." Anzu was always quick to apologize. She heard Kiba chuckle a bit moments later. "It's alright, no biggie Anzu. Also, I've notice you seem a lot happier today. Any reason why?" He asked as a curious grin came to his face.

"Oh, It's nothing really. I just ran into Rock Lee earlier. He and I became friends when I met him the other day when Gai-Sensei invited us to celebrate the formation of his team. He's really nice, and sweet." She replied. Anzu saw Kiba's face scrunch up as a jealous scowl made its way onto his face. "Oh, is he now." Kiba replied, crossing his arms. Anzu giggled a bit. "What's with the scowl Kiba? You jealous or something?" She asked, teasing him. "N-No! What makes you think I'm Jealous?!" He asked, getting a bit defensive as his face turned a light shade of pink. "Well, the look on your face seems to give it away pretty well." Anzu replied.

Kiba tried to shake off the feeling of jealousy. "So, what is it about him you like?" Kiba asked "That's easy. He's sweet and really kind. He's good at reminding others of their own self worth. Like he did for me. Lee got me to realize that my own feelings do matter and I shouldn't keep them bottled up as if they didn't matter like I've been doing. I always kept my true feelings hidden, never wanting to show them because all it does is worry those around me and I don't want to be a burden to anyone because of them." Kiba frowned as he listened to Anzu speak. He knew that she always hid how she really felt but he hadn't realize that, that was the reason why. "Anzu, you'll never be a burden to me or to Naruto. I hate when you hide your feelings from me." He said as he clenched his fists.

Anzu felt as if her heart sank a bit as she frowned. "I know you do, I'm not sure why I hide my feelings, even from my closest friends but it just seems so much easier to do so. I just don't want you all to worry about me. I don't want you all to think I'm weak just because I can't handle some of the emotions I feel. Don't get me wrong, I hate feeling the way I do all the time but it makes me feel even worse when people take the time to worry about me when they choose to worry about me. I'm sorry Kiba, I really am." By the time she finished speaking her voice was barely above a whisper. It didn't take Anzu very long to go from being incredibly happy to being miserable with her own self conflicting thoughts and emotions. Kiba instantly felt bad for opening his big mouth about Lee. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Anzu, it's okay. I'm not angry with you. I just want you to know that I care about you and that I'll always be here for you whenever you need me. I always will be and that's a promise."

Anzu hugged Kiba almost immediately."Thank you Kiba. Thank you so much!" She cried as she buried her face into his chest. "C'mon Anzu, please don't cry." Kiba said as he wrapped his arms around her. He hated seeing Anzu like this. Kiba always felt so helpless when Anzu cried and that frustrated him. He wished he could do more for her.

Kiba and Anzu stood there and talked for a while longer until he invited her to take a walk with him. He didn't want to leave her side when he knew Anzu needed him. Kiba had noticed that Anzu was somewhat going back to being the quiet, reserved girl she had been when he had met her and he didn't want that to happen. "Please don't go back to being the way you were before Anzu. You don't need to feel like you have to keep to yourself all the time. I don't want to see you hide away like you used to. You'll never be happy if you do that." Kiba said in a low voice. Anzu frowned. "I know I won't but it's so hard not to. I've been trying hard not to keep to myself but we all know I haven't been doing a very good job."

"Don't blame yourself, it isn't your fault. If your brother wasn't a jerk I know you wouldn't be like this." Kiba replied, his voice turned into a growl when he spoke about Neji. Anzu wanted to say that it wasn't Neji's fault but she knew it would have been a lie. "I know." She muttered. After she said that the rest of their walk was silent until she said goodbye to Kiba when she got home. She saw Neji when she walked in the door. Anzu walked past him but she stopped when he spoke up. "If you think that Lee truly cares about you then you're a lot dumber than you look. Don't expect anyone to like a dirty traitor like you."

Anzu's heart sunk as she tensed up. She didn't want to believe Neji but deep down there was a voice trying to convince her that he was right. "Do you enjoy making me miserable Neji? I really wish you could get over what happened when we were little. It's not like I actually succeeded in escaping from this horrible destiny we have of protecting the main branch." She muttered as her voice gradually got louder. "I still got the stupid mark on my forehead!" She growled as she looked at him. A look of anger and sadness could be seen upon her face. "I wish you could feel all of the emotions that you cause me to feel. Have you ever known what depression feels like? If you were me you'd know the feeling every single day. I know you probably don't care though."

Anzu soon went to her room, leaving Neji wide eyed after he had heard what she said to him. He wondered if he truly was causing her as much pain as she said he did.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey-O everyone, as always I'd like to thank you all for sticking around to read my story. Thanks to those of you who followed, favorited, and reviewed the story! I appreciate it more than you could ever know. Sorry for the short chapter but I'm going to make the next one longer because I have a lot of ideas for it.**

* * *

Neji ran after Anzu when she hurried towards her room. He placed a hand on her shoulder before she could open the door. Anzu quickly turned her head to look at him. "What do you want now?!" She snapped angrily as she glared at him. The anger in her eyes made it look as if she despised him because of everything that had happened.

His blank stare soon dissolved into a more sad expression. Neji looked down at her. He was slowly starting to notice the damage he had caused. He didn't blame Anzu for being angry with him. He had wanted to say something but nothing came to his mind. Being nice wasn't his strong point. "Well?" Anzu asked, clearly getting annoyed. Neji looked away from Anzu to avoid her glare. "Never mind. . ." He sighed as he turned around and walked away. Anzu frowned, "That's what I thought. . . " She muttered as she entered the room and shut the door behind her.

Anzu walked over to her bed, sitting on it . She was staring at the window, looking out of it as she thought about what had just happened. Was he going to try and be nice to me? Anzu thought, she was certainly confused because she had never expected Neji to follow her. I'll never know unless he does something again. She thought as she laid down to sleep. For the first time in a while Anzu seemed to fall asleep almost instantly.

The next day Anzu had gone to Hinata's to see if she was home. Anzu wanted to speak to her and possibly get some much needed advice. Anzu quickly got herself ready for the day and headed for Hinata's place. When she got there she knocked on the door. She took a step back when Hiashi opened the door. "Oh, Hello Anzu." Hiashi greeted." Anzu knelt respectfully before speaking. "U-Um, hello Lord Hiashi. Is Hinata home? I'd like to speak to her if that's alright." Hiashi nodded and called for Hinata.

"Coming father!" Hinata's called out as she came out to where he was. "Oh, hello Anzu." Hinata greeted as she smiled a bit. "Hey Hinata. I was wondering if you'd like to possibly train with me today." Anzu wanted to go somewhere and talk with Hinata. She only used training as a reason for Hiashi to let Hinata go with her. Anzu knew how he could get when they wasted time instead of training. Hinata looked up at Hiashi. "May I go with her father?" She asked. A look of happiness came to her face when he nodded. "Yes, you may. Don't stay out too late though." Hiashi said before going back inside. Hinata and Anzu soon headed off.

* * *

They left and headed towards the training grounds. "Listen Hinata, I don't really plan on training today. I just needed to get you away from Hiashi a bit so we could talk for a bit. I need a bit of help, some advice as most people would call it." Anzu said, being straight forward with her cousin. "What kind of advice Anzu? I can help you in any way I can." Hinata replied softly.

"I need some advice on how I could ignore Neji when he treats me so badly. I know he treats you just as bad and I've always wondered how you always get past it. It's so hard for me to ignore him and the things he says to me. I don't know how much more I'll be able to take it." Anzu glanced at her. She noticed the last bit of what she said seemed to worry Hinata judging by the worried look that came to Hinata's face.

"Well Anzu, I just do things that I like to do to take my mind off of things that upset it. I find it really helps. Doing things that you like might help you. Have you tried doing that?"

Anzu nodded in response."Yes Hinata, that's what I always do to try and ignore it all but it's not working anymore. I told Neji how he was making me feel last night and I think it got him thinking a bit. He did stop me before I got to my room and for once he looked kind of. . . Sad. I've never seen him look that way before. He acted like he wanted to say something to me but he didn't say anything. It was strange and I don't know what to make of it.

A saddened look came to Hinata's face, she wasn't sure how much she would actually be able to help Anzu after hearing this. It made her want to keep a close eye on her now to make sure nothing bad came to her cousin. "Oh Anzu, I never knew that you truly felt like this. I'm so sorry." Hinata whispered, concern and worry filled her voice. "It's okay Hinata, it isn't your fault." As they continued to walk, Anzu had decided to head for the nearest park with Hinata.

Anzu planned on spending the day with Hinata, hoping that it would help her feel better. She did tend to go to Hinata when she needed someone aside from her friends to cheer her up and Hinata always did a great job. She was thankful that she had Hinata when she didn't have her friends or Neji.

Anzu and Hinata spent the rest of the day at the park, it had been nearly sundown when they had left. Anzu walked Hinata home before returning home herself. Dark thoughts made their way into Anzu's mind as she walked alone. The thoughts were telling her to do something she knew she shouldn't do. It was something that would most certainly worry everyone as well but at this point she really didn't care and she was siding with the thoughts but she had to find a way to execute her plan. She knew that one of her classes would contain something that could help her with it. She would be able to get her hands on it tomorrow.

* * *

The next day had seemed to come quickly and Anzu dragged herself out of bed and pushed herself to get herself together. It happens today, She thought silently as she grimaced a bit when she thought about her plan. Anzu skipped breakfast once again and she didn't notify her mother when she left to go to the academy.

The first class she had today was the one where she and her friends would practice shuriken and kunai throwing. Anzu planned on stealing a kunai knife because she needed one in order to do what she was constantly thinking about.

When the class began she stood in the back, watching as some of the others were throwing them at wooden targets. Anzu picked up a kunai and looked at it with a sullen expression. Once she had it she began looking for the best way to sneak off and it wasn't long until she was able to get away. She ran away as fast as she could, hoping that no one had noticed she was gone just yet. She knew that it wouldn't take Iruka-Sensei long to realize she wasn't there.

The place Anzu had gone to was one of the training spots throughout the village. She stood there beneath the shade of a large tree, staring at the kunai knife. "This is something I have to do. Whether I live or die he probably wouldn't care. He and everyone else would probably be happier if I wasn't here anymore." Anzu said aloud to herself. She had the kunai pointed at her stomach and she didn't hesitate to stab herself with it, pushing it deep into her flesh.

The overwhelming sensation of pain could be felt as she dropped to her knees. Tears filled her grey eyes as she closed them. She could feel blood as she slid out of the wound and covered her hands as they still grasped the kunai. "Goodbye everyone." She muttered before she ended up lying on the ground.

Back at the academy, Iruka looked around to make sure that everyone was here. "Anzu? Has anyone seen Anzu?!" He called out. Everyone looked around for a moment, and a couple of boys in particular began to get worried when they noticed Anzu was nowhere to be seen. Those boys were Naruto and Kiba. "Sensei! We can go and look for her!" Kiba and Naruto said simultaneously. "Alright, bring her right back here after you find her!" Iruka ordered as he watched the two of them run off to search for her.

"This way Naruto, I've got her scent!" Kiba exclaimed as he and Naruto began to follow it. They moved as fast as they could to get to Anzu. A worried look made its way onto Kiba's face and Naruto quickly took notice of it. "Kiba, what's wrong?!" Naruto asked, demanding to know. "I smell blood Naruto." Kiba replied grimly. "You don't think Anzu would. . . ." Naruto began, cutting himself off before he said anything else. Naruto didn't want to think that Anzu would deliberately hurt herself but they wouldn't know until they got to her.

By the time they got to Anzu's location the saw her lying in a small pool of blood. Mortified looks came to Naruto and Kiba's faces as they looked at Anzu, they noticed her hands still gripped the kunai that was lodged in her stomach.

"Anzu!" Naruto screamed as he ran over to her lifeless looking body.

* * *

 **Sorry y'all but I wanted to leave it at a little bit of a cliff hanger. ;) stay tuned to see what happens in the next chapter! I love you all and I'll see you later ^_^**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey all you lovely people. I was going to wait a while to post this but I couldn't. I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
**

* * *

Naruto rushed to Anzu's side with Kiba following him. "We need to get Anzu to the hospital!" Naruto said frantically. A look of annoyance came to Kiba's face. "Oh really? What was your first clue you idiot!" He growled as he picked Anzu up. "I'll take her to the hospital. You go tell Iruka-Sensei that we found her and that she's hurt, and more importantly that she hurt herself." Kiba ordered before running off with Anzu. "Don't worry Anzu, you're going to be okay." Kiba said as he looked down at her. _I hope_ , he added silently.

Kiba knew that he would do whatever he could to save her. He drew his lips back, baring his canine-like teeth. _I bet Neji is the cause for this_ , Kiba thought, _I'm seriously going to kill him this time!_ Kiba knew Anzu wouldn't have done anything like this if her brother wasn't the cause for it.

Kiba ran thought the village taking many twists and turns as he took the quickest path that would get him to the hospital. When he got inside he got everyone's attention. "Somebody help Anzu, she's hurt and needs immediate attention!" He shouted. Some of the nurses made their way over to Kiba, they had one of the little stretchers that they carried and placed Anzu onto it. "We'll do what we can." One of the nurses said to Kiba before they took Anzu back to get checked out and taken care of.

"Thanks." Kiba muttered, watched Anzu as she was carried off. He hated feeling this helpless, he wished he could be back there with her. He sat in the waiting room because there was no way he was leaving until he knew she was alright. Kiba hoped that Naruto would get to the academy and let Iruka know what was going on. "I can't believe that Anzu actually tried to kill herself. I mean it isn't much of a surprise but I still can't believe that she actually would go through with it." Kiba said aloud to himself as he balled his hands into fists. "You'd better not die on me Anzu. You have to pull through. You just have to."

* * *

"Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto shouted, practically screaming when he got back to the academy. "Naruto, what's wrong? Did you find Anzu?!" Iruka asked, wanting answers. Naruto nodded. "Yeah, we did and she was hurt! She tried to kill herself. We found her laying in a pool of blood with a kunai in her stomach. Kiba took her to the hospital and if I know him he won't leave until he knows she's okay, if she's going to be okay that is." Naruto explained, speaking in a quieter voice so only Iruka could hear him. Only Iruka needed to hear about what happened.

Iruka looked as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. _Sweet little Anzu tried to kill herself?_ Iruka thought as he thought about the young girl. Anzu had never stricken him to be the type of person that would do such a thing. "I wonder why she would have done such a thing. We can only hope that she'll be okay. Look Naruto, I know that you're one of her closest friends so you have permission to go back to the hospital if you wish to." Naruto looked shocked to hear Iruka say that. "You really mean it sensei?" He questioned, watching Iruka nod. "Thanks sensei!" He exclaimed before he took off.

Naruto knew there was something he had to do before he went to the hospital and that was to go and tell Mrs. Hyuga about Anzu. He didn't want her to worry any more than she needed to. When he got to Anzu's house he knocked on the door loudly. "Mrs. Hyuga! I've got something important to tell you about Anzu!" He shouted.

It wasn't long until the door opened to reveal Anzu's mother. "Hello Naruto, what is it? Has something happened to Anzu?!" She asked. Worry made it's way to her face. Naruto frowned as he nodded. "Yeah. Kiba had to take her to the hospital after we found her earlier. She took a kunai knife from our class and ran off. Anzu tried to kill her self ma'am. I knew I had to come tell you before I met up with Kiba at the hospital."

Tears came to her face as she thought about Anzu, and she wondered if the quarrel between Neji and Anzu had caused this to happen. "Oh my little apricot." She whispered as she looked away from Naruto for a moment. "Thank you Naruto. I can never thank you and Kiba enough for helping my daughter and taking her to the hospital. I just hope that she'll be okay. Why don't you go on ahead and go meet Kiba. I'll be coming to the hospital shortly to see my little girl." She said before going back inside. "I'll see you later Mrs. Hyuga!" Naruto said before running off.

When Naruto entered the hospital he noticed Kiba sitting in the waiting room. "Any word on how Anzu's doing yet?" Naruto asked as he sat next to Kiba. "No, not yet and it's a bit worrying." he replied. Kiba was always a bit impatient. "I can't believe she'd do this. Doesn't she know that we need her?!" Naruto asked, growling in frustration. "We can't really blame her but I know one person we can blame for it." Kiba said to Naruto, hinting and reminding him about Neji.

"You're right! Neji is so dead when I get my hands on him!" Naruto growled as anger filled his normally kind voice. "For once we can actually agree on something. I say we pummel him the first chance we get." Kiba replied. He saw Naruto nod.

* * *

After what felt like several hours of waiting a nurse finally came out to where Naruto and Kiba were. "How is she!?" Kiba demanded as he quickly got to his feet. "She's in stable condition but it might be a while before she wakes up. she damaged herself pretty badly with that kunai. I can take you to her room." The nurse said before she turned and walked towards Anzu's room.

When the boys got into Anzu's room they just stared at her as they moved closer to the bed she was resting in. Her breaths were slow and shallow and it hurt them to see the condition she was in. "Anzu. . ." Kiba whispered as he sat in a chair that was next to her bed. "Please, heal quickly." He added.

It wasn't long until Anzu's mother stood in the doorway. Behind her stood Gai and his team. "Sorry it took me so long to get here. I had to inform everyone else." She said as she glanced at Gai and his team. They all walked over and stood next to Anzu. "You've let this go way to far Neji. You're to blame for this you know." Kiba growled as he and Naruto glared at him. Hell, Lee was glaring at him too. "Calm down Kiba. I'm sure Neji sees that. A hospital is no place to start a fight." Gai said before things could get out of hand.

Neji looked down at Anzu, frowning as he saw how she looked. He grimaced, he actually felt bad after seeing this, realizing that he had driven his own sister to resort to attempt to take her life. "You need to make things right between you and Anzu." Gai said as he placed a hand on Neji's shoulder. Gai noticed the sadness that could be seen on Neji's face. "I'll try to sensei." Neji said before glancing back down at Anzu. "I promise."

"I am so sorry Anzu." Neji said to the unconscious girl. He would say it again to her whenever she decided to wake up. The doctors and nurses never gave them an estimate as to how long it would be until she woke up. Little did they know that she'd be out of it until tomorrow at the latest because of the damage Anzu had caused to herself.

Team Gai stayed with Anzu, her mother, Naruto, and Kiba until visiting hours were over and they had to leave. Neji was going to come back first thing in the morning to check on his younger sister. He just hoped that she'd even want to see him after what he'd driven her to do. Neji knew that tonight was going to be a long one. How could he possibly sleep knowing that Anzu was in the hospital and that she was hurt because of him.

Everyone sure took their time getting home because the only thing on their minds was Anzu. Neji was confronted by his mother when they got home. "Do you realize now that you should have been nicer to her? Anzu could have died. I've already lost your father. I can't lose my daughter as well. I love you Neji but you need to start being nicer to your sister. You have to make Anzu feel like you want her and that you love her." She said as she began sobbing. Neji hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry mother. I never realized how much I had truly hurt Anzu and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get onto her good side. I won't stop until I succeed, no matter how hard it may be to gain her trust." Neji replied. He meant every word that he said and he knew that it may be hard to gain the trust of the one person he had hurt so badly.

"I'm going to my room and attempt to sleep. I plan on visiting Anzu in the morning and try to talk to her if she's awake by then." Neji said as he walked away. When he entered his room and closed the door he almost instantly punched the wall as hard as he could. Surprisingly he didn't put a hole into it. "Anzu. . ." Neji murmured regretfully. "If only I had noticed this coming sooner, maybe I could have changed. After all the times you showed me that you'd always be there for me when I needed you look how I repaid you. I caused you to try and commit suicide. I'm so sorry dear sister. I promise I'll change. I'll never mistreat you again."

Neji had gotten changed before laying on his bed, he stared up at the ceiling as he thought about all of the things he had said and done to Anzu, he regretted every single thing he had done. He wished he could go back in time to change everything but he knew that wasn't possible. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep. For once he had a difficult time sleeping.

* * *

When morning came Neji didn't wast any time. He got up and got himself together before rushing out the door. I wonder if Anzu is awake yet, he thought as he made his way to the hospital.

When he got there he made his way to his sister's room, to his surprise she was awake. "Good, you're awake." He said as he entered. Anzu turned her head to look at him, an unfriendly look could be seen on her face. "What are you doing here? Come to say something awful to me like you always do when I'm down? Don't tell me that _now_ you suddenly care now that I've tried to take myself out! Don't lie to yourself. You know you'd be better off with me dead." Anzu looked away from him, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes.

"Anzu. . . I wanted to apologize for how I've been acting. There was no excuse for me to ever say all of the things I've said to you in the past. I've no excuse for doing any of the things I've done to you. I just hope you can forgive me. I wouldn't be better off without you, you're my sister and I need you as much as everyone else does." Neji said as he sat in a chair near the bed. He wasn't so sure that Anzu believed him though. She did seem quite reluctant to trust him after all she had been through.

"Why should I believe you? You've lied to me several times before. I can't believe you'd expect me to just believe you right off the bat after all the crap you've put me through. It's going to take a lot for me to know if I can trust you." Anzu said softly. She tried to sit up, wincing and gasping in pain when she moved up too far because of her injuries. "Don't push yourself Anzu, you need to lie still and rest. You don't need to open your wound up." Neji said as he help her lay back a bit. "Don't touch me!" Anzu growled, "Stop acting like you suddenly care about me! You've never liked me so why would you like me now? I'd like to be left alone. I need some time to think."

"Okay fine. I'll come back again later to check on you." Neji replied as he got up. He stood in the doorway for a moment before he looked at her. "I want you do know that I do love you Anzu. I will gain your trust no matter what and I'll become the brother you need. I'll see you later." He then left, knowing that he needed to go find Guy, Lee, and TenTen because they had a mission to go on today.

* * *

Anzu laid there, she had gotten caught up within her thoughts. She had been thinking about what Neji had said to her. Did he really mean what he said? She doubted it as of right now. Neji would have to prove to her that he wasn't lying and she knew it would be a while before that would ever happen. Anzu was soon snapped out of her thoughts when Kiba, Naruto, and Lee came into her room. "Anzu, you are awake!" Lee shouted ecstatically. Anzu frowned when she saw all three of them, she wondered what they thought of her now after what she had done to herself. She looked away. "I bet you're all mad at me. Aren't you. . ."

"Mad? Why would we be mad?" Lee asked. Anzu turned to look at him, tears filled her eyes. "Because of what I did. I tried to kill myself. How are you not mad at me for it?" Anzu's heart ached. Seeing Lee, Kiba, and Naruto instantly made her regret doing something so stupid. Lee sat on the bed and placed a hand on top of her head. "It is okay Anzu. I am not mad at you. I am just glad that you are okay. I was more worried than anything. Please, promise me you will not try that again when I can always help you get through any problems and challenges you face. Alright?" Anzu nodded as she sniffled a bit. "There, there, do not cry Anzu. I can not bare to see your sadness." Lee added, frowning a bit.

Kiba let out a small growl as he watched as Lee spoke to Anzu. He was getting a bit jealous because he liked Anzu as well. He walked over and looked down at her, a slight grin came to his face. "Hey sleeping beauty, glad to see you're finally awake. I thought you were going to sleep forever." Anzu blushed a little and giggled at what Kiba had said. "It's good to see you too Kiba." She replied. This time Lee was getting jealous, it was easy to tell because of the pout he wore on his face.

Anzu couldn't help but to giggle when she saw how they acted. "You both seem like you're jealous." She pointed out. "Us? Jealous? No way!" They both said at the same time. This only made her laugh a bit more. She ended up laughing to the point her wound hurt. "A-Ah!" Anzu squeaked as she placed her hands over her stomach. "Are you alright Anzu?" Kiba asked. She looked up at him and smiled softly as she nodded. "Yeah, I'll be okay Kiba. I promise."

Naruto walked over moments later and took a seat. "Hey there Anzu." He said, grinning a bit. "Hey Naruto." She replied. "It's relieving to see you've woken up. I never want to see you in the state you were in yesterday. I was so scared, I thought that I had lost you. Please don't ever scare me like that again. None of us want to lose you because you're our best friend." Naruto said, getting a bit shaken up.

I'm so sorry Naruto. I wasn't thinking when I did it. I was being selfish and tried to take the easy way out. I promise I won't ever do it again, or at least, I promise to try not to." Anzu said softly. "You guys will never believe who stopped by earlier. Neji came here and he tried to be nice to me. I'm not sure if I should trust him though. Especially after all that he's put me through."

"Maybe he want's to start being a better brother?" Lee said, suggesting the thought. Lee would have to question him about it later when they left for their mission. "Oh! Anzu, I almost forgot. Neji, TenTen, Gai, and I will be going on an escort mission to the village hidden in the rocks very soon and we will be gone for a few weeks. I came here to say goodbye to you before we left. I also had to see how you were doing." Anzu frowned when she heard he would be leaving. "You're leaving? Please stay safe, all of you."

Lee knelt down and smiled at her. "We'll be safe and we'll comeback unharmed! I promise!" He said as he gave her his signature thumbs up as his grin widened. That made her smile. "Good. I hope you'll hurry back Lee. I'll miss you all while you're gone." Anzu replied. She held an arm out, indicating she wanted a hug. Lee gave her what she wanted and hugged her. The two blushed a bit with how close they were. "Well, I've got to go Anzu. I'll return as soon as possible." Lee said as he hurried out of the room.

Kiba glared at Lee the entire time he hugged Anzu. He was glad when Lee left. "Lee may be gone but I'm glad I still have you two to keep me company. The nurse said I'll be here for a while so I won't be able to train anytime soon. It's unfortunate really but I can only blame myself." Anzu said as she looked at her two remaining friends. "We'll be here as long as we can be." Kiba promised. "Yeah! You'd better believe it!" Naruto chimed in. Anzu smiled. "Thanks you guys. I really appreciate it. You two are the best friends anyone could have!" Anzu said thankfully.

* * *

Lee, Neji, TenTen and Gai were walking out of the Leaf Village alongside the girl they were escorting to Iwagakure, the Hidden Stone Village. Mariko Amano was the girl's name. "Thank you for accepting the mission to escort me home mister Gai." She said cheerfully as she skipped alongside him. Mariko was a happy-go-lucky girl. She loved to have fun with everyone around her. "You're very welcome Mariko." Gai replied as he let out a hearty laugh.

Their escort mission had begun. Lee and Neji had only one person on their mind and that was Anzu. They hoped that she'd be out of the hospital by the time they got back. They just had to get though this mission and get back quickly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! I'm back again with another chapter. Hope you all enjoy it. I also got a commission of Anzu done by DangerMayer on Deviantart. Go to their deviantart page and go to their commission folder in their gallery and find the one titled PCM 108: Hyuuga. The picture titled that is the commission I got of Anzu :) Hope you all like her design! I tried to post the link within this chapter but it didn't work. :/  
**

* * *

"So, Mariko. How come you were in the leaf village?" TenTen asked. She was curious about the reason since Mariko was pretty far away from the hidden stone village. "I was visiting my grandparents. I haven't seen them in such a long time so I thought I'd pay them a visit. They were surprised and very happy to see me. I've been in the hidden leaf village for about a week. I love being around my grandparents so much." Mariko explained as a large smile came to her face. She was still skipping along everyone and she seemed to have an unlimited energy source with how active and energetic she was. "That's sweet of you to come and have a week long visit with them. I can only imagine that they appreciated it a lot." TenTen said as they walked.

Mariko nodded. "They did, they did." She chimed happily as she clapped a bit. Mariko seemed to act somewhat like a very young child despite the fact that she was about twelve. TenTen groaned, she knew that she was going to get tired of Mariko's childish and energetic personality. She got enough of that from Lee and Gai-Sensei. Please let this mission be over soon, TenTen thought.

Mariko was just as active as Gai and Lee combined. She and Lee played around a bit, one game they played for a while was I spy. After a while Mariko began to bombard Lee with questions. "So, Lee, what's one of your favorite things to do?" She asked. "That is an easy one! Training is my number one favorite thing to do!" He exclaimed, beaming happily.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Green." Lee replied casually.

"How old are you?"

"Twelve" Lee replied.

"Favorite food?"

"Pork buns"

By this time Neji and TenTen were staring at Mariko and Lee, listening in on Mariko's interrogation. They wondered why she was wanting to know so much about Lee.

Favorite animal?"

"Panda Bears"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Lee hesitated to answer this question. A picture of Anzu flashed in his mind, causing him to blush. "Well, not exactly but there is one girl that I do like very much. After we finish our mission I have to quickly get back to her."

Mariko began to pout a bit when she heard that Lee had a girl that he liked. It also frustrated her to know that she wasn't the girl Lee spoke about.

"Does that mean you don't like me?" She asked sadly. She fluttered her eyelashes as she continued to pout. "No! No! Of course I like you Mariko!" Lee exclaimed, getting a bit flustered as he tried to cheer her up. Mariko latched herself onto one of Lee's arms, clinging to him as if he were her boyfriend. At this point she technically considered Lee as her boyfriend. "Uh, Mariko. Could you please let go of me. This is a big uncomfortable." Lee was unsure of what to do. He glanced over at Neji and TenTen and mouthed the words 'help me.'

Neji and TenTen looked at one another before looking towards Mariko and Lee. "Um, Mariko. We've been hired to protect you and escort you home and Lee won't be able to do that with you hanging all over him like that." TenTen said to her. Mariko looked at TenTen and a scowl made its way to her face. "You're just trying to keep Lee all for yourself! Nice try TenTen!" Mariko stuck her tongue out at her. "As if! I only like him as a friend and nothing more!" TenTen growled.

TenTen and Neji tried to get Mariko to leave Lee alone but nothing they tried worked. Mariko had become possessive over Lee. Lee didn't like it one bit. They traveled until it was nearly sundown, and that was when Gai declared that it was time to set up camp. Lee set up a fire and Neji caught some fish from a river that was nearby.

They prepared the fish over the fire and had a nice dinner. Gai decided to try and talk to Mariko this time. "So, Mariko. How did you get to the leaf village when you came to visit your grandparents?" "Oh, I traveled with a merchant that was willing to escort me if I paid him a small fee. I didn't mind giving him money for escorting me. He did good and got me to the village safely at least." Mariko replied.

"I'm glad that you got to the village safely. Not all merchants are trustworthy. Most of them would take advantage of a young girl like you. You certainly got lucky." Gai said, looking at the young girl.

* * *

Lee had been stuck sitting with Mariko until she had fallen asleep. That was when he moved. Lee noticed that both Gai and Neji weren't here. Where did they go? Lee silently asked as he got up and looked around for them. It didn't take long for him to find them. They were sitting next to the river. Lee could here them talking but he didn't know what about so he got closer.

"Sensei, how am I going to gain Anzu's trust? When I saw her at the hospital she didn't want anything to do with me." Neji needed advice from Gai-Sensei and he knew he needed it badly. "Well Neji, it seems she's acting this way so you can see how it felt to be in her position and to give you the same feeling she felt. It hurts doesn't it? I can't say I'm surprised that all of this happened. I saw the signs of Anzu's depression worsening and that's why I always got on you about it. I knew it was only a matter of time before Anzu hurt herself. I hoped you would have changed before then but that didn't happen until she nearly died." Gai said softly, gazing up at the sky. "Anzu has always needed you and you chose to shun her. It might take her a while to trust you but you just have to keep interacting with her, show her that you're sorry and that you love her. She's just afraid that you'll lie and betray her again. I can bet she'll set up a high defense around her when it comes to trusting others. Breaking the barrier to get to her trust will be hard but I know you'll be able to do it. I have faith in you Neji." Gai added.

Lee was shocked to see how quickly Neji had begun to change after seeing Anzu. Lee was glad to hear that Neji wanted to be a better brother. He decided to keep listening to their conversation.

"After seeing her yesterday I wish I would have chosen to change how I treated her too. Just seeing how fragile and helpless she looked made me see just how horrible I really was. I never want to see Anzu like that again." Neji said, balling his hands into fists. Seeing Anzu in the hospital really seemed to tear the boy up on the inside.

"Just keep at it once we get back to the village. I'm sure once Anzu sees that you really care I'm sure she'll open up to you. It'll just take time." Gai said as he placed a hand on Neji's back. "Thank you for the advice sensei. I do appreciate it." Neji said, smiling a little as he looked up at Gai. "You're very welcome. I'll do anything to help my students." He said, grinning.

Lee smiled a little. He was glad to hear Neji's sincere words. He too would help Anzu see that Neji is different now and maybe it would help her be more willing to trust her brother. He decided to go back to where TenTen and Mariko were and sat underneath one of the trees. He leaned back and tried to get some sleep because he knew they still had quite a long journey ahead of them. He honestly couldn't wait until they got Mariko back home, he wanted to get away from her.

* * *

Lee was awoken by Mariko the next morning by Mariko when she practically glomped him. "What in the world?!" Lee exclaimed as he looked at Mariko. "Morning Lee!~" Mariko said in a sing-song-like voice. "Uh, morning Mariko." Lee replied as he tried to get up. "Nu-uh! sit here with me!" Mariko whined. "I can't! We need to get going soon to continue the journey back to your village." Mariko let out an aggravated sigh as she reluctantly got off of him.

Lee had gotten up and ate breakfast with his squad. They had cooked it while he had been asleep. They had traveled a good distance yesterday and they would have another long day of traveling again today. I am sorry Mariko but I am sick of you already, Lee thought,grimacing as he glanced over at her.

* * *

Gai and his team have been traveling for a little over a week now. They were going to be at the hidden stone village within an hour or so. Mariko tried to force herself upon Lee every waking moment of the journey. Lee, one of the nicest people, was about to explode because of how frustrating this was.

They all kept walking, and walking, and walking until they had finally gotten Mariko home. "Finally, we have arrived at the hidden stone village." Lee said thankfully. "Awe man, I'm home now. That means we'll be apart Lee. Doesn't that make you sad?" Mariko said as she looked over at him. "I'm sorry but no, it does not make me sad. Like I said, I do not have feeling like that for you. I have someone back in the leaf village that I just simply adore and she needs me more than anyone." He said a bit bluntly. He was honest though. Lee never lied. "Who is this girl and why does she need you so much?" Mariko asked jealously. "Her name is Anzu, she is Neji's younger sister. She'll always need me more than anybody because of all of the heartache she has been though. I am sorry Mariko but the only thing you and I could ever be is friends. That's how it'll always be." Lee replied.

Mariko stood there, a look of pure shock came to her face as she stared at Lee. A scowl soon replaced it. "Find then, if she's so important to you then I don't want you to talk to me ever again." She stated, looking away as she crossed her arms. "Now that you've gotten me here safely you can leave now." She added rudely.

That's what Team Gai did, they collected their payment and left. They could now move at a faster pace so they could quickly return back home to the hidden leaf village. Neji and Lee were certainly wanted to get home quickly.

* * *

About another week had passed and team Gai had returned to the leaf village. "Hey Neji, why don't we go and see how Anzu is doing? She'll be glad to know we're back from our mission." Lee suggested, watching a Neji nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. Let's go Lee. We'll see you guys later." Neji said to TenTen and Gai before he and Lee ran off.

They quickly made their way into the hospital, going back to the room that Anzu had been in only to find that she was no longer there. "Anzu is gone!" Lee exclaimed. "Maybe she got dismissed and was able to go home." Neji suggested as they went back to the front desk. "Excuse me ma'am. Has a girl named Anzu Hyuga been dismissed?" Neji asked. "Give me one moment and I'll check for you." She replied politely as she began looking through the paperwork. After a few minutes of waiting she spoke again when she found the date of Anzu's dismissal. "Ah yes, she got dismissed early last week." "Thank you ma'am." Neji replied before he and Lee took off and headed home.

Once they entered the house Neji saw Anzu sitting with their mother in the living room. He offered a kind smile to Anzu. "It's good to see you're doing better little sister." Neji said in a softened tone. "Oh, hello Neji." Anzu said softly. Her eyes lit up when she saw Lee though. "Lee! You're back!" She said happily. Neji looked away, trying to hide the somewhat hurt and jealous look on his face. Anzu tried to get up rather quickly. She let out a pained gasp because she moved a little too quickly. Her stomach still hurt a bit when she made fast movements. "Stay there Anzu!" Lee ordered as he went to sit next to her. "Anzu, please give Neji a chance. He truly feels bad about how he's treating you. You can trust him. You can trust me too and I mean it when I say Neji is a changed man!" Lee said to her. "Are you sure?" Anzu asked, fear could be heard in her voice and Neji seemed to quickly pick that up.

Gai-Sensei was right, she is afraid to trust me. I will fix that. Neji thought as he sat on the other side of Anzu. Neji placed a hand on her shoulder, he caught notice of how she flinched. She thought I was going to strike her didn't she. Neji thought sadly.

"Anzu, Lee is right. I'm through with how I used to act. I'm sorry for how I've always treated you, I really am. Seeing you in the hospital made me realize how selfish I had been. I mean, I was the reason you had tried to end your life and if you would have succeeded I wouldn't have been able to have handled that. I never want to see you look so frail. I felt so bad after I realize I had been the one to cause you so much pain. Can you ever forgive me Anzu? I promise I will do whatever I can to be the best brother." Neji told Anzu how he had been felling. How he regretted everything and how it hurt him to see how she had looked in the hospital when she looked almost lifeless. He looked at Anzu when he heard her start to sniffle a bit. "Anzu, please don't cry." Neji said as pulled her into a hug.

"Neji I'm sorry! I'm sorry for what I did! I'm sorry for being so mean to you when you visited me at the hospital! I forgive you big brother, I love you so much and I'm so happy that you're finally talking to me." She wailed, burying her face into his chest. Neji tightened his embrace, he made sure to be gentle because of her stomach. "You have nothing to apologize for. I don't don't blame you for anything that you've done. I love you Anzu." Neji said softly, resting his head on top of hers.

Lee watched this touching moment, trying hard to keep himself from crying. Anzu and Neji's mother was in tears, but she smiled a bit. This was a moment she had always dreamed of seeing. The day that her children decided to make up. She had wanted them to make up since the day Neji started pushing Anzu out of his life. She knew it would be more peaceful in their household now that Neji had ended the feud he had with Anzu.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone, I'm back with another chapter. I worked really hard on this chapter, I figure I'd add a bit of stuff from the show, I did watch the episodes with the events that take place in this chapter so I didn't forget any details for the parts I wanted to add. I hope you enjoy.**

 **I would also like to address one of my reviews, The one left by Zapper25, you were kind of rude. If you all want to leave reviews please try not to be rude. I would like reviews that motivate me to write. Zapper's review did everything except motivate me. I'm okay with you not liking my story and all but you could have said it in a less rude way. Zapper if you want something done a specific way you can write your own story and not tell me what you would have done. This is my story and I'll do as I please when I write it.**

 **I'll be looking forward to reviews, follows, and favorites. Reviews, follows, and favorites motivate me and inspire me to keep writing my story. I feel like it's not very good but hey, at least I'm trying to write a decent story! Talk to all you lovely people later~**

* * *

Another year had passed and the day of Anzu's graduation had finally arrived. Anzu was in the main room of the house, pacing back and forth as anxiety pricked at her nerves. Neji was sitting on one of the chairs. "Anzu calm down. You're going to do fine." Anzu heard Neji say. She looked at him, a panicked look came to her face. "But what if I'm not going to be fine? What if I fail?!" She asked fearfully as she seemed to think of all of the worst options. "You're going to ace the final exam. You're smart and you need to believe in yourself and tell yourself that you can do it." Neji said as he stood up. He could see that Anzu was still doubting herself. Neji sighed as he looked her in the eye. "Trust me when I say I know you're going to pass little sister." Anzu inhaled and exhaled as she took a deep breath. "You know what? you're right! I can do this! I'll pass and become a ninja like you, Lee, and TenTen." Anzu smiled a bit as she hugged Neji. "Thanks Neji. I'm glad I can count on you to help me when I'm feeling anxious." Neji smiled, "You're quite welcome Anzu." He replied.

"We'd better head out so you're not late." Neji made his way over to the front door, opening it as he waited for Anzu. "Right. The last thing I need is to be late on the day of my final exam." Anzu followed after her brother. She was much happier now that Neji had started caring about her. She really liked the new Neji. Everyone else was much happier now that Anzu wasn't so sad anymore. Kiba, Naruto, and Lee didn't have to constantly worry about her now. "Let's go!"Anzu exclaimed happily as a grin spread across her lips. She and Neji left, heading in the direction of the academy. He walked her there more often now before going to meet with his own team.

As soon as they had gotten to the academy, Anzu heard Kiba and Naruto ran over to greet her. "Hey Anzu! Ready for our final exam today?!" Naruto asked excitedly. Anzu was a bit hesitant as she nodded. Even though she knew she'd do great she was still pretty nervous. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Naruto grinned. "We're all going to do great and become the best ninja the leaf village has ever seen!" Naruto shouted as he pumped his fist into the air. Kiba grinned a bit. "He's got a point. We're all going to be some awesome ninja."

"I'll be leaving now Anzu. I have to go meet with Gai-Sensei and the others. Good luck on your exam, I'll see you later." Neji said to her before running off to go meet his team. He didn't have time to hang around or else he was going to be late. "Bye Neji!" Anzu called out as she watched him leave.

"We'd better get to class and get the exam over with." Anzu said as she grabbed Naruto and Kiba's hands, pulling them along with her. Anzu tightened her grasp on their hands as anxiety began to take over again. Naruto yelped, "Ouch Anzu that hurts!" Anzu laughed a sheepish laugh as she tightened her grasp. "Uh, sorry Naruto." "You nervous or something?" Kiba asked. Anzu nodded. "Don't worry, Anzu. We'll all pass. I just know it." Kiba said, grinning a toothy grin.

"I hope you're right Kiba." Anzu softly replied as they entered their classroom and sat down. Anzu sat in the seat that was in the middle of the seats that Naruto and Kiba sat in. Anzu rested her head on the desk in front of her while she listened to Iruka as he explained how the exam was going to work. "you'll each be called one at a time and you'll come into the examination room and preform the cloning jutsu for me and Mizuki. Those who successfully do it will pass and those who don't will fail. It's pretty simple. I'd like to wish you all good luck." Once he was done speaking he went into the room that Mizuki was waiting in. There was another one of the ninja that worked at the academy standing next to the door, he called the names of the students when it was their turn.

One by one each student had gone into the examination room and most of them came out with headbands, quite a few of them were a part of the rookie nine. Anzu wasn't too shocked to see them pass, they had to pass in order to become the rookie nine. Anzu couldn't wait to be a ninja alongside them. "Kiba Inuzuka." The ninja called. Anzu turned to look at him and said, "Good luck Kiba." He just grinned and replied with, "I don't need luck Anzu. I know I'm going to ace this." Anzu smiled and nodded, she knew he would. She watched him as he went into the room where Iruka and Mizuki awaited him.

It wasn't long until he came back. He showed Anzu his headband. "See, told you I'd pass." Kiba replied, a bit of arrogance could be seen and heard as he spoke. "I knew you would too Kiba." Anzu replied, grinning a bit. Her grin soon faded when she heard her name called. "Anzu Hyuga." She bit her lip and swallowed hard as she got up. "I'll be back." She said as she became nervous once more. She made her way to Iruka and Mizuki and gave them a hesitant smile. "Hello Anzu, you can perform the cloning jutsu whenever you're ready." Iruka said to her. She just nodded. Anzu took a deep breath as she made the proper hand sign. "Cloning jutsu!" she called out. A puff of smoke filled the area but it quickly faded away to reveal two clones standing alongside her. I did it! Anzu thought excitedly. "Great job Anzu, you passed." Mizuki praised. He gave Anzu her headband when she walked over to them. "Thank you Mizuki-sensei." She replied before going back out to Kiba and Naruto. "I did it! I passed!" She squealed excitedly. "Great job Anzu! We knew you could do it!" Naruto cheered, holding out his fist for a fist bump. Anzu smiled and bumped his fist with her own.

"Naruto Uzumaki." The ninja called. "Well guys, looks like it's my turn." Naruto said before going to the examination room. Anzu frowned as she stood at the door, she knew that Naruto was going to fail his exam and it would lead to several important events that Anzu knew she had to let happen or else Naruto won't become a great ninja. He had to learn his special technique. He just wouldn't be the same without it.

* * *

Naruto walked into the room and greeted Iruka and Mizuki with that goofy, energetic grin of his. "Hey Iruka-Sensei. Just you watch, I'm going to pass this time you hear me!" Naruto enthused energetically. "Get on with it then and quit fooling around!" Iruka scolded, causing Naruto to jump a little bit. "Okay, okay, jeez." Naruto muttered. He put his hands together to make the correct hand sign and shouted, "Clone jutsu!" Blue chakra could be seen swirling all around him and it was soon replaced by a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared there was a clone but it was a pathetic looking one that was sprawled out on the floor. This always seemed to happen whenever Naruto performed the cloning jutsu. Iruka just groaned when he saw the pitiful state the clone was in. "I'm sorry Naruto but I have no choice but to fail you once again." Naruto stood there, disbelief could be seen within the look in his eyes. Naruto Was disappointed in himself for failing yet again. He gritted his teeth, he also trembled as he stood there. It wasn't long until Naruto darted out of the room.

Anzu frowned when she saw Naruto run out of the examination room, especially when she saw the look of pain and disappointment upon his face. She saw Mizuki following him as well. Why would Mizuki be following Naruto? Anzu questioned. "Naruto! Wait!" Anzu called after him as she got up to follow him. She felt so bad for Naruto, knowing good and well that he had failed. It wouldn't be long now until Naruto would steal the sacred scroll whenever Mizuki decided to tell him about it. That was when it hit her. Mizuki is following him so he can tell Naruto about that sacred scroll! The one that'll teach him the shadow clone jutsu! She thought, feeling like an idiot for forgetting that. Once she had gotten outside she saw Mizuki talking to Naruto. She just stood there, knowing she couldn't interrupt them. I knew that Mizuki wanted to take Naruto somewhere else so they could talk privately. Once they left Anzu decided to go home.

* * *

~~~Naruto's Point Of View~~~

* * *

Naruto sat on the swing beneath one of the trees outside of the academy. He was a bit surprised when Mizuki came over to talk to him. Naruto listened as Mizuki told him to get up and follow him so they could chat elsewhere. Naruto got up almost instantly, he wanted to know what Mizuki wanted to say to him.

It wasn't long until they were on a balcony of sorts, staring out at the setting sun. They sat there until Mizuki broke the awkward silence. "Iruka-Sensei's tough but he's not against you." Naruto glanced over at Mizuki, confusion made its way to his face. "But why? Why only me?" He questioned. "He wants you to be strong with all his heart. But that will never happen if he goes easy on you. He's like you, you know. No parents, no family." Mizuki replied calmly, staring off into the distance. "But this time I really wanted to graduate." Mizuki responded with a light chuckle. "Then I guess I have to tell you." Naruto was silent for a moment before uttering a, "Huh?" "It's a secret but I'm going to let you in on it." Mizuki added. Naruto had a shocked, yet confused look on his face as he waited for Mizuki to tell him more. Now he was curious about this secret. A Secret, Naruto thought to himself.

* * *

Several hours and night had come and Naruto was on his way to obtain the scroll that Mizuki had told him about. Naruto had no idea that this was all a ploy so that Mizuki could steal the scroll and gain the secret and sacred techniques the scroll had to offer. It wouldn't be long until Mizuki would go get Iruka and blame Naruto for stealing the scroll when Naruto didn't know exactly what he was doing.

Naruto was currently in a secret place that Mizuki had told him to go to. He sat down and unfurled the scroll, looking to see what the first jutsu was. "Let's see, the first one is. . . Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu." Naruto read aloud to himself. He groaned, placing a hand to his head as he shouted, "Argh! Not this again! It's my worst Jutsu!" Little did Naruto know that there were ninja searching for him and that scroll.

Mizuki on his way to where Naruto was, planning to eliminate him. Mizuki would do whatever it took to get his hands on the sacred scroll so he could tend to the evil plans he carried within his mind.

During all of this Naruto had been training, he was currently sitting on the ground, panting quite hard. He was a bit tired from all of the training. Naruto looked up when he heard someone walking towards him, it was Iruka. "It's all over , heh heh heh." Iruka said as an odd grin came to his face. Naruto just chucked in return as he rubbed the back of his head. "Huh?" Iruka uttered in a confused manner. "Caught me already, not bad! You're quick Sensei. I only had time to learn one technique." Iruka was shocked. He's been out here practicing. I can tell how hard he's been working, Iruka thought to himself as he stared at Naruto. "Listen Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, "I'm going to show you this amazing jutsu and you're going to let me graduate and everything will be okay! That's the way it works right? Anyone who learns a jutsu from this scroll passes." Iruka didn't know what to think when he heard Naruto. "Huh?! Where'd you get that idea?" Iruka asked. "Mizuki-Sensei told me about it! Believe it! He told me where to find the scroll and this place." Naruto replied.

Huh, Mizuki?! Iruka thought with shock. It wasn't long until several kunai were thrown at Iruka and Naruto. "Look out!" Iruka shouted as he pushed Naruto out of the way. Naruto grunted as he hit the ground. "I see you found our little hideaway." Mizuki said as Iruka painfully grunted as the kunai pierced his flesh. "So that's the way it is huh? I should have known." Iruka said, grimacing a bit. He was trying to ignore the pain of the kunai knife wounds. "Naruto!" Mizuki called, "Give me the scroll now!" Naruto looked back and forth between Iruka and Mizuki, clearly he was confused. "Hey, wait a minute. . .What's going on here?!" Naruto uttered as confusion hit him. "Naruto! don't let Mizuki get the scroll! It contains jutsu that could put this village in grave danger! Mizuki used you to get the scroll for himself! For his own power!" Iruka replied, warning Naruto of Mizuki's ill intentions.

Naruto growled a bit. "Naruto. Iruka's just trying to scare you cause he doesn't want you to have the scroll." Mizuki said, lying obviously. "Huh?" Naruto uttered, he looked like he was having a hard time trying to figure out who to believe. Naruto looked over at Iruka. "Stop lying Mizuki!" Iruka hissed angrily. "Don't let him trick you Naruto!" Mizuki responded with laughter. "Oh, I'll tell you who's really lying." "No Mizuki!" Iruka shouted, cutting Mizuki off. Mizuki was going to say what he wanted to anyway though. "They've been lying to you your whole life Naruto. Since the decree twelve years ago." Mizuki said as his grin widened. "What decree?" Naruto asked. "Everyone knows it except you. Iruka's trying to hide it even now he'd do anything to shut me up."

"What is this decree?" Naruto asked, wanting to know more about it. "Why does everyone else know about it?" "Don't tell him it's forbidden!" Iruka exclaimed loudly. Mizuki smirked, he was about to speak again. "The decree is no one can tell you the nine tailed fox is sealed inside YOU!" Naruto's eyes widened, he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "The fox spirit who killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village has taken over your body. You are the nine tailed fox!" Mizuki added, only wanting to upset Naruto even more. Mizuki didn't care who he hurt as long as he got what he wanted. "Stop it!" Iruka yelled loudly. "They've all been sneaking around hiding things from you you're whole life. Didn't you think it was strange how they treated you? Like dirt! Like they hated you for just being alive!"

"No!" Naruto yelled as tears started welling up in his blue eyes. "no, no, no, NO!" Naruto yelled as swirling blue chakra began to surround him. "Naruto!" Iruka called out. "That's why you will never be accepted in this village!" Mizuki said, egging him on. "Even your beloved sensei hates your guts!" Iruka was hunched over as he leaned against the structure behind him, another sharp pain hit him and he groaned. Iruka was now thinking about something the third Hokage had once said to him. Iruka, Naruto never had a mother or father to care for him. He's shut out of everything and doesn't know why. Most people won't even look at him. How would you feel if everywhere you went people turned their backs on you? That's why he gets in trouble. So people will notice him. It may not show but he's always thinking about the family he doesn't have. He's hurting inside.

"Die Naruto!" Mizuki yelled, spinning a large shuriken in his hand, he was getting ready to throw it at Naruto. Naruto began to panic, crawling away from the large shuriken that was headed right for him. "Naruto! Get down!" Iruka yelled, Naruto listened, getting low to the ground as he covered his head. He turned back to see Iruka crouching over him. The shuriken was now embedded in Iruka's back. Iruka coughed up a small amount of blood that landed on Naruto's right cheek. Mizuki was furious, a look of anger made it's way to his face when he saw that Iruka shielded Naruto from his attack. "But, wh-why?" Naruto asked. "Because we're the same. When I lost my parents no one seemed to care. They didn't have time for me. They just forgot I was there. My grades dropped. I became the class clown. I just wanted them to see me and to know my name. My schoolwork wasn't enough to get their attention so I did crazy things and then I had to pay for it. It was hard. I know that's how you feel Naruto. You feel lonely and it hurts inside and I could have been there for you more. I let you down. I'm sorry. No one should have to suffer that much, no one should be alone like that." Iruka replied. Tears streamed down his face, he genuinely felt bad for how he had acted and how he hadn't been there for Naruto as much as he could have been.

Mizuki chuckled menacingly. "Don't make me laugh! Iruka always hated you! He was orphaned because the nine tailed fox killed his parents and that beast is now inside you. He's say anything to get the scroll from you!"

Naruto got up quickly and began running away from Iruka and Mizuki. "Naruto!" Iruka called out. "Narutooooooo!" He called out again. Mizuki jumped down, he was only a short distance away from Iruka. He chuckled a bit. "You know once he makes up his mind that nothing can change it." Mizuki said with a grin. "He's going to use the scroll to take revenge on the village. You saw that look in his eye didn't you? Those are the eyes of a beast."

Iruka reached for the shuriken in his back, pulling it out. Pain rippled through the wound when he did. "No, Naruto isn't like that!" Iruka growled, throwing the shuriken at Mizuki. Mizuki easily dodged it though. "Hm, you're a joke. As soon as I eliminate Naruto and get the scroll I'll be back for you.

Iruka tried to get up when Mizuki went after Naruto he felt a sharp pain but he wasn't going to give up just yet. I won't let you, Iruka thought as his determination to defeat Mizuki grew.

Once Iruka was on his feet he began to chase after Naruto until he was able to catch up to him. "Naruto! Everything Mizuki said was a lie. Give me the scroll, hurry! He's coming after you to take it away!" Iruka said to Naruto. Naruto tackled Iruka when he got in front of him. "Argh!" Iruka said as they both began plummeting to the ground below. Naruto landed on his feet but Iruka hit the ground with a hard thud, they both skidded across it a bit as well. Naruto was panting hard, glaring in Iruka's direction. "It can't be. . ." Iruka said, surprised. Naruto clutched the scroll in his arms as he stumbled back, falling on his butt and scooting back until he was leaning against a tree. "How did you know Naruto? How did you know. . ." He began, he was cut off for a moment when smoke surrounded him and he transformed back into Mizuki. "It was me and not Iruka?" Mizuki questioned. Naruto grinned before smoke engulfed him and he turned into Iruka. "Because I'm Iruka." He said in a somewhat cocky manner. "You're a fool! Why are you protecting that freak? He's the one who wiped out your family!" Mizuki growled. "I don't care what you say! You're not getting your hands on that scroll!" Iruka replied. "As if you can stop me! Don't you get it? Naruto is just like me!" Mizuki retorted. "How's that?" Iruka questioned. "He wants the scroll for his own power and his own vengeance. That's how beasts are. He'll pour all his rage into the scroll and destroy everything." Mizuki stated firmly.

Naruto continued to listen to their conversation from behind a nearby tree. "He might." Iruka said, making Naruto gasp. He clutched the scroll. So it's true. Iruka-Sensei never believed in me. He thinks I'm some beast. Some kind of freak! Naruto thought sadly. Iruka then began to speak again. "That is how beasts are but that's not who Naruto is. He's nothing like that. Naruto is one of a kind. He works hard, he puts his whole heart into it. Sure he messes up sometimes and everyone jumps on him but his suffering only makes him stronger. That's what separates him from being a beast. So you're wrong. He's nothing like the nine tailed fox. He's Naruto Uzumaki from the village hidden in the leaves!" Naruto was sobbing by the time Iruka had finished talking. Naruto was happy to hear Iruka's words, happy to hear how Iruka did believe in him.

"You really believe that? Iruka, I was going to save you for later but I changed my mind you're finished!" Mizuki yelled as he grabbed the other large shuriken he had and began spinning it rapidly and charging at Iruka. So, this is it, Iruka thought grimly. Naruto soon came out of nowhere, slamming into Mizuki and knocking him away from Iruka. Mizuki landed on the ground with a hard thud, skidding backwards a good ways. "Naruto?!" Iruka said in surprise. Naruto was ready to fight now. He wasn't going to let his sensei die. "Not bad for a little punk." Mizuki muttered. "If you ever lay a hand on my sensei I'll kill you!" Naruto threaten, glaring at Mizuki. "such big words. I can completely destroy you with a single move!" Mizuki replied angrily. "Take your best shot fool! I'll give it back to you a thousand fold!" Naruto challenged. "Let's see you try!" Mizuki spat. "Show me what you can do nine tailed fox!" He hissed.

"Shadow clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted. Iruka watched in awe as he saw the many clones of Naruto surrounding the area around them. Naruto, those aren't just illusions they're solid clones! He's mastered an extremely advanced jutsu! Iruka thought happily as a smile spread across his lips.

Mizuki began looking around, he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw all of the shadow clones. Served him right for the way he underestimated Naruto. "What is this?!" He exclaimed. The shadow clones were shouting things such as 'over here' and 'come and get me' and other various taunts. Mizuki fell onto his ass, unsure of what to do now. "If you're not coming then we're going to come after you!" Two of Naruto's clones said, grinning. Fear was written all over Mizuki's face as he screamed when the clones came after him. It was safe to say that Naruto had won this fight. It wasn't long until Mizuki was laying on the ground. He had a busted up face and he didn't dare to move. Naruto stood there, looking down at him, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I kind of got carried away. You okay Iruka-Sensei?" He asked, glancing at his teacher. Iruka struggled to speak,taking a breath before saying, "Yeah." He's amazing, he wants to surpass all the hokage and I'm starting to believe he might do it. Iruka thought happily "Ahh, Naruto. Come here a minute." Iruka said, grinning a bit. "I've got something I want to give you." He added. Naruto went over to hm but Iruka told him to close his eyes.

"Sensei? How much longer?" Naruto whined. "Okay, you can open your eyes now." Iruka said. When Naruto opened his eyes he noticed that Iruka didn't have his head band on. "Congratulations! You graduate!" Iruka said proudly. Naruto just stood there. His mouth was gaped open and his eyes were open wide. He couldn't believe it. "And to celebrate I have a surprise. We're going out for ramen tonight." Iruka added. Naruto bit his lip and his bottom lip quivered a bit before he lunged at Iruka, hugging him happily. "Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed. "That hurts!" Iruka complained, Naruto just laughed. He was happy. He was finally going to live his dream of becoming a ninja!

* * *

~~~End Of Naruto's point Of View.~~~

* * *

Soon enough the next day came. Anzu was sitting in class with Naruto and Kiba. Today was the day they would be assigned to their teams. Anzu couldn't wait to find out who her teammates would be!

It wasn't long until Shikamaru walked passed us, he looked a bit surprised to see Naruto. Anzu had been surprised to see him when she had gotten there. She didn't ask how he passed considering she already knew how. "What are you doing here Naruto? This isn't for dropouts. You can't be here unless you graduate." Shikamaru said to him. Naruto just stared at him for a moment. " Oh yeah? Do you see this? Open your eyes Shikamaru. It's a regulation headband." Naruto replied before a large cheeky grin spread across his face. "We're going to be training together! How do you like that?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru replied with a 'hm'. "Let me put it to you this way, I look great in this headgear. Like it was made for me. Believe it! Ha Ha Ha!" Naruto said a little cockily. Hinata was watching him from afar, a light blush could be seen on her cheeks. Anzu turned to look at her and giggled a little. She found Hinata's crush on Naruto to be quite adorable.

It wasn't long until Ino and Sakura burst through the door, shoving one another in the process. "I'm first!" They said together. The two certainly didn't look happy. "Oh boy, here we go again." Anzu muttered to Kiba, who only laughed in response. It was kind of funny to see them compete with one another but it could get really annoying too. Especially when they would fawn over Sasuke. Sure, he was pretty cute but Anzu couldn't see herself with someone like Sasuke. She'd be more than happy to be his friend though.

Sakura and Ino were now hunched over, panting heavily, tired from running the whole way here. "I won again Sakura!" Ino stated, a smug grin came to both of their faces. "Give it up! I had to look back to see you. My toe was at least a tenth of an inch ahead!" Sakura retorted. "Have you always been this delusional?" Ino asked. Anzu soon noticed Naruto looking at Sakura and grinned. "Looks like little Naruto has a crushy-wushy~." Anzu teased, giggling a bit. Naruto turned to look at her, pouting a bit. "I do not Anzu!" This only made Anzu's laugh a bit more. "You do too! You were blushing and everything!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at her before looking away and crossing his arms as he began to pout.

It wasn't long until his attention focused on Sakura again. Naruto thought Sakura was looking and smiling at him and it made him blush a bit more. Little did he know she was really looking at Sasuke. The boy she and Ino always tried to force their love upon. When would they realize that forcing their love on someone will not make them love them? It seemed like they would never realize that with how they acted half the time.

Sakura giggled and ran towards Sasuke while Ino lifted a hand and asked, "Hey, where are you going?" Naruto stood up as Sakura got closer to him and greeted her. "Hi Sakura, what's up?" Sakura however was pretty rude, knocking Naruto to the side while shouting, "Move it!" "Rude much Sakura?" Anzu muttered, receiving a glare from Sakura. Anzu went to help Naruto up. "You okay Naruto?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm alright Anzu." He said. "Thanks for helping me up." Naruto added.

"Uh, good morning Sasuke." Sakura greeted, acting all shy. He just looked at her, giving her a 'what do you want' kind of look. "Mind if I sit next to you?" Sakura asked. Ino marched over to her, clearly annoyed. "Back off forehead, I'm sitting next to Sasuke!"Ino said, grabbing Sakura's arm. "I was here first!" Sakura growled. "I walked into the classroom before you did! everybody saw it!" Ino said a bit angrily. One of the other female students walked over. "Actually I got here before either of you!" She said. Other girls began to join in, saying that they were also there before Sakura and Ino were. All of the girls were now fighting over who was going to sit next to Sasuke. Sasuke just looked at them before closing his eyes. He hated all of the attention he was getting from the girls. Clueless, Sasuke thought to himself. "Jeez people, sitting next to Sasuke isn't that important. Get a freaking life!" Anzu spat to all of them. She knew she angered just about every girl here but she didn't care.

Anzu noticed Naruto had gotten up and went over to Sasuke, he sat on the desk in front of him and began to stare him down. Sasuke just calmly looked at him, his usual blank stare never left his face. Naruto growled a bit. "Naruto! Stop glaring at Sasuke!" Sakura yelled angrily. Why are they so obsessed with him. Sasuke, Sasuke! What's the big deal with this guy? Naruto thought in annoyance. Sasuke and Naruto were soon glaring at one another. All of the girls were being quite loud, they didn't like Naruto being so close to Sasuke. "Whoa! This is great!" The student behind Naruto said, getting up a bit and bumping into Naruto. "Sorry, did I bump you?" The boy asked. All of the girls suddenly got quiet. Anzu looked over, she had to cover her mouth to hold back her laughter when she saw Naruto and Sasuke kiss. Sakura screamed and Sasuke and Naruto were grossed out, their hands were on their throats. "I'll get you Naruto!" Sasuke growled. That was when Anzu couldn't hold it in. She was howling with laughter. "Aw man! That was the funniest thing I've seen in ages!" Naruto and Sasuke were glaring at her. "What? It was funny even if you two don't agree." She said, sticking her tongue out at them playfully.

Naruto turned to look at all of the girls. They looked as if they were ready to kill him. "Naruto. . ." Sakura muttered, glaring at him alongside every other girl. "You are so dead!" Sakura added. Naruto put up his hands, "Hey, whoa, it was an accident!" He claimed. "Naruto my dear, you might want to start running now." Anzu advised, still laughing. Sakura cracked her knuckles while saying, "You're finished!" Naruto looked scared, "Hold on!" He said to Sakura. Long story short all of the girls beat Naruto up.

Iruka soon came into the room and everyone took their seats. "As of today you are all ninjas. You faced difficult trials and hardships. But that's nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult. Now you are only genin, first level ninjas. All the genin will be grouped into three man squads. Each squad will be lead by a jonin, an elite ninja." Iruka explained. Everyone seemed to have looks of surprise on their faces. It wasn't long until Ino and Sakura began conversing again. "Well, someone's got to be in Sasuke's group. I wonder who."Ino began, glancing down at Sakura. "I don't know." Sakura replied before turning to angrily glare at her rival once more. Anzu rolled her eyes and glanced over at Sasuke, knowing he wasn't going to be thrilled to be in a three man squad. Sasuke never wanted to be slowed down by anything. Anzu knew that Naruto would be happy to be with Sakura and anyone else except for Sasuke. He despised Sasuke for the most part. Anzu knew that he'd get over it eventually.

"We want each squad to have a balance of strengths and abilities. So that's how we set them up." Iruka explained, looking down at the list he held firmly in his hands. He began to announce the squads. "Squad seven, Naruto Uzumaki, Anzu Hyuga, and Sasuke Uchiha" Iruka called out. Anzu gave Naruto a high five, she was happy to be in his squad. She pouted a bit when she glanced at Sasuke. He would be a bit tricky to befriend but she would find a way to do it. Naruto wasn't happy about Sasuke being on their team either. Iruka began to call out the next group. "Squad eight. Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame." It wasn't long until Sakura made a peace sign to Ino, making her angry. "How did you get in his group!?" Ino furiously asked. "I don't get it, what do you see in a guy like that?" Shikamaru asked. "He's not so special." "You are so beyond clueless Shikamaru! Don't you get it?" Ino asked. "No, I don't get it because I'm not a girl." Shikamaru replied, getting a dumbfounded glare from Ino in return. She then smiled a little. "You are so full of yourself. Jealousy is a terrible thing. I'd hate to be on your squad." Ino replied, closing her eyes and tilting her head down a bit. "Now squad ten!" Iruka called out, "Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara." This got Shikamaru to laugh a little."Did you mention something about hating to be on my squad?" He asked Ino, a sly grin could be seen upon his face. Ino growled a bit. Iruka soon continued, "And, Choji Akimichi." He finished. Aah, not food boy too! Ino thought disappointingly. Choji was sitting there, munching on chips just as he always did. "And lastly, Sakura Haruno, Amaya Akamine, and Ryota Goya. Those are all the Squads." Iruka finished.

Naruto soon stood up and pointed at Sasuke. "Iruka-Sensei? Why does a great ninja like me have to be in the same group with a slug like Sasuke?" He asked. Iruka seemed almost surprised to hear Naruto speak. "Hmm, Sasuke had the best scores out of all the graduating students. Naruto, you had the worst scores," Iruka began getting cut off by the class's laughter. "To create a balanced group we put the best student with the worst student." Naruto growled and Sasuke spoke up. "Just make sure you don't get in my way. Loser." That clearly pissed Naruto off, he balled his hand into a fist. "Hey, what did you say?!" Naruto asked. "Hard of hearing?" Sasuke asked. Anzu groaned. "Shut up you two or I'll shut you up myself!" Anzu growled. She didn't want them to fight the entire time she was with them! Iruka soon cleared his throat. "After lunch you'll all meet your jonin teachers. Until then, class dismissed." Everyone then left to go eat lunch. Anzu knew that Naruto would go try to talk to Sakura so she decided to go and eat lunch with Kiba and his squad. She would like to get to know Shino a bit more. She wanted to befriend all of the rookie nine.

* * *

After lunch everyone headed back to the classroom. They were all excited to meet their teachers and we couldn't wait to start doing missions, and to start training but first we would have to pass a test to see if we were capable of being ninja. I knew we all would pass though. We had to pass. It wasn't long until just about everyone went with their teachers. Asuma, Kurenai, and even the Sensei that lead Sakura's team, Takeo had all came on time. Anzu knew that Kakashi was going to be incredibly late though.

Anzu, Sasuke, and Naruto had been waiting for quite a while and Kakashi still hadn't shown up. "He's late!" Naruto growled. "I know but we just have to be patient and wait." Anzu replied, watching Naruto as he walked over to the door. He opened it and looked both ways, scanning the hallway to see if Kakashi was anywhere to be found. "Just sit down will you." Anzu muttered. "I don't want to! How come our teacher is the only one that's late?" Naruto asked. "I'm ready to roll, believe it! The other groups already met their new teachers and took off on some adventure or something and Iruka-Sensei's gone too!" He added. "We Know, okay." Anzu said with a sigh. She then looked at Naruto with wide eyes. "Hey?! What are you doing?!" She asked, watching as Naruto stuck an eraser at the top between the door and the wall. Naruto was laughing like a hyena. "This is what he gets for coming late! Surprise!" Naruto yelled. "You're asking for trouble, you know that right? You really shouldn't do that." Anzu said calmly. "Hmm, our teacher's a jonin, an elite ninja. You think he'd fall for that?" Sasuke put in. "Who knows Sasuke, he might or he might not. We'll just have to wait and see I guess." Anzu replied. Anzu soon turned to look at the door, noticing Kakashi's hand as he got ready to push the door open. Naruto began to chuckle and it wasn't long until the eraser fell on to Kakashi-Sensei's head and then it fell onto the floor. Naruto was howling with laughter. "I got him! He totally fell for it!"

Anzu frowned as she stood up. "I'm sorry sensei, I told Naruto he shouldn't have done that but he doesn't listen. I would never have thought to do anything like that." She said, crossing her arms a bit. Sasuke just glanced at us. He actually fell for that cheap trick? Is this guy really a jonin? Sasuke silently asked himself. Kakashi picked the eraser up, looking at it. "Hmm, how can I put this. My first impression of this group. . . You're a bunch of idiots."


End file.
